Machinations of Terror
by The FireSpark
Summary: This is a story set in the years just prior to present day (in game) Tyria. It follows the adventures of original characters based upon creations made in the Guild Wars 2 game by myself and a number of my friends. It is still a work in progress, but I hope it is enjoyable none the less. So follow these intrepid souls, as they seek to find their true calling in Tyria.
1. Chapter 1 - On the Job

**Chapter 1**

**On the Job**

As another terrible shiver wracked through his small frame Rachit pulled his bulky coat tighter about him. and the fur lined hood lower, down to the tops of his large golden eyes. Huddling inside his slightly overlarge clothing, Rachit desperately tried to hold on to every iota of heat he still had. Like most Asura, he had been born and raised in a tropical jungle and having been descended from a people who, until recently, lived the entirety of their lives underground; the biting cold of the Shiverpeak Mountains in winter was not an environment that Rachit felt he was well suited for. And as if this wasn't enough, the fact that he had spent the last hour laying still on bare rock, was merely compounding his woes. Raising his small gloved hands to his mouth, Rachit blew into them as best he could. As he rubbed them together rapidly in hope of building some semblance of warmth, he heard a soft snuffling sound from behind him. Looking over his shoulder, Rachit eyed the Charr sitting against the rock wall of the tunnel they found themselves in. She wasn't wearing nearly as much clothing as he was, though her coat of golden speckled brown fur made her far more suited to the current weather than Rachit would ever be. Though Rachit knew for a fact that the Charr was wearing a full suit of chain beneath her coat and heavy pants, that wouldn't be helping her stay warm in the slightest. None the less he was still slightly jealous of her higher tolerance to the cold. As he briefly looked, Rachit caught a glimpse of his companion's ears twitching behind her short curved horns. That, combined with the now choked snuffling sound, told Rachit that she was quietly laughing at him. Or the Charr equivalent at least. Rachit leaned over and gave a soft jab to her shoulder.

"Glad to note that at least one of us is finding some amusement with my near hypothermic condition," Rachit whispered quietly. His companion had the decency to look slightly abashed at his soft comment, or so Rachit presumed from the tightening in her muzzle and slightly drooped ears. She didn't say anything, but instead turned her head away and began scratching at some dry lichen on a nearby wall with a single claw. She cleared her throat after a moment, the sudden sound seeming to rumble through the silence. Turning her head back towards her companion, she looked about to speak, but no words came and she looked troubled, as if the words wouldn't form. Rachit reached out and patted her shoulder this time. "Oh, do not fret and worry Vayla. I meant no harm, and inferred none from your amusement. At any rate, I should hope that I would be far more insulated against such passive non-verbal slights. At least that, if not against this frustrating frigidity."

Vayla smiled sheepishly, and snuffled at Rachit again. She placed a hand against her chest, and bowed her head slightly. Rachit knew as well as she, that no matter how quiet she tried to be her voice would carry too much if she spoke. Doing anything softly simply was not a part of Vayla's skill set. Rachit understood her meaning though, as clearly as if she had spoken aloud. _Apologies. Thank you._ Rachit nodded back, and waved the rest away. His friend always took perceived insults, whether towards or from her, far too seriously. At least, so he thought. Vayla smiled, then gestured at her eyes with a finger, then pointed out into the dim cavern they were perched above. Rachit nodded calmly, but inside he was startled. With all the time spent sitting doing nothing, he had almost forgotten their reason for being there in the first place.

Reaching into his coat, and after a few moments of shuffling through random bits of gear in his pocket, Rachit fished out his small telescope. He had originally been holding it at the ready when they had first arrived, but the first time he had placed it against his eye, it had almost stuck there. Now, the small metal tube was actually pleasantly warm, at least as far as his hands were concerned. Laying back down on his belly, Rachit inched his way forward until his face just peaked out over a cliff, where the narrow tunnel they were in opened into a massive cavern. If not for the brown and beige furs he wore for warmth, his natural coloration would have blended him right into the rock he lay on. But Rachit had no intention of removing any of his warm clothing even for a moment, and he had told Vayla the same when she had first suggested it in jest. The wide open space below was being dimly lit by a scattering of cook fires. Except for at the very far end of the space, which was ablaze from two massive fires burning in braziers of some sort. It was there, that Rachit pointed his telescope as he brought it to his face.

Rachit noted that the scene had not changed much from his earlier observations, but the fact hardly surprised him. Atop a crude alter of sticks and stones, between the two large fires sat the reason he had come here in the first place, risking frostbite and hypothermia. A large orb shimmered in the flickering of the fire light, glimmers of blue and green twinkled as he watched. It was difficult to determine from such a distance, but Rachit was certain that the orb was almost as large as his head. What it was precisely, he did not know. The only thing that he did know for certain was, that they had been promised good coin if they could retrieve it. Shifting the looking glass only slightly, the image swung and Rachit watched as almost a dozen Grawl shaman danced and twirled in some sort of ritual or worship around the altar. If the shaman had been the only ones down there, he and Vayla would have claimed the orb and been gone long ago, preferably straight to the nearest bonfire. Shifting the scope once more, Rachit looked into the more shadowed areas around the alter, and was able to make out a vast number of Grawl still gathered near the dancing shaman, but not too close. While some looked on in wonder and some knelt in supplication; the vast majority seemed to stare in confused thought, a state Rachit felt was a default condition for all Grawl in general. Their constant milling about and comings and goings made getting an exact count difficult, but Rachit's best guess put their numbers at twenty or thirty at the least. As to how many Grawl were spread throughout the entire cavern, Rachit could not guess. With only a smattering of cook fires, and those dim at best, any other movement below was difficult to discern. Even with his eyes, Rachit could not be sure if a movement was a Grawl moving, or simply a trick of the poor light.

Rachit had started to lower the telescope when Vayla suddenly spun from where she sat and glared back down the tunnel. Rachit gave such a start that he almost dropped his scope, but managed to regain his grip on it after a moment of bobbling. He was about to give Vayla a stern, if hushed, piece of his mind when he stopped in place and perked up his own ears. There were voices coming from down the tunnel, back the way they had come. More than likely, they belonged to the companions that they had left there to guard the other end of the tunnel. The voices did not sound urgent or troubled, but the fact that he was hearing them at all was troubling to Rachit. Stealth was not only their greatest asset at the moment, it was also the only thing keeping an unknown number of Grawl from knowing they were there at all. It was doubtful that the Grawl below could hear the far off sounds, but Rachit wasn't about to take any chances. Quickly collapsing the telescope and stuffing it in a pocket, he started padding quickly down the tunnel towards the voices, which were beginning to get louder. Behind him; Rachit could hear Vayla softly loping along to join him, as well as the soft growl growing in her throat.

By the time Rachit skidded to a halt at the tunnel entrance, the owners of the voices were practically shouting at each other. The tunnel let out into a small round cave that opened onto blue sky, and framed in the light of the cave's entrance was a human man scrubbing furiously at the sleeve of his deep purple robes. He seemed quite upset, or so Rachit judged by the expression on his face as he glared off to his left. With the sudden light, Rachit's eyes were having trouble seeing clearly, and so he could not make out what exactly was being scrubbed at.

"You have gone too far this time Juxeena! I have enough trouble keeping clean while tramping about the damp caves and sodden crevices you like to lead us through without you making things even more difficult. That was entirely uncalled for!"

Rachit spun his head in the direction that the man was glaring and yelling. Juxeena, a tall Norn woman with exceptionally long brown hair, was leaning against a small outcropping of stone, seemingly without a care in the world. A massive bow and matching quiver bristling with arrow fletchings, were leaned against the wall next to her, and an arctodus lay curled at her feet, apparently unconcerned with the shouting match underway. Juxeena laughed out loud; and as she spoke, her deep voice rumbled through the cave. "Oh, get over yourself Elovar. It's not like you've never gotten dirty before. Besides, we're in the wilderness. Dirt tends to come with the territory. Deal with it."

Rachit turned back, and now with his eyes adjusting to the clear light, could make out that Elovar was trying, and mostly failing, to remove a long smear of mud from his billowed sleeve. Rachit could also make out that some of the mud had managed to splatter across the side of man's face, all the way up to his spiky blond hair. Elovar gave one last useless swipe at his hanging sleeve, before throwing both his hands in the air with a scoff.

"Oh! Oh, that is rich! Get over myself? Deal with it? Coming from the woman who fusses over her hair if the slightest breeze moves a _lock_ of it out of place."

Juxeena stood up straight then, the humor vanishing from her in an instant, and her carefree appearance went with it. She strode towards Elovar, her hand raised and a finger pointing straight at him, as if she might run the man through with it. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but before she could her head snapped slightly to one side as a small stone caught her just behind the temple. In an instant Juxeena had recovered, and had a long dagger drawn and ready as she spun around. She came up short though as she saw Rachit standing with another rock at the ready, and Vayla standing behind him with a dark look on her face and her fangs bared. Juxeena's face was taut in readiness, which gave way to confusion when she saw who was there, and then to anger at the realization of who had hit her with the rock.

"What's the big idea you little twerp? You're lucky I didn't just hurl this blade at you."

Vayla loosed a snarl in earnest then, but Rachit waved her down as he hissed at Juxeena. The arctodus raised its head for a moment, but apparently saw nothing of threat or interest, as it laid its head back on its forepaws. Once everyone had paused for a moment to assess the situation, Rachit strode towards Juxeena and Elovar, his face twisted in consternation. He did his best to keep his small voice low, but it was still heated as it came out in gruff and hissing whispers.

"What in the Eternal Alchemy is wrong with you two? What part of 'as quiet as possible' did you not comprehend? I used the smallest words I know of to convey the importance of silence at this stage in the operation, and yet with barely an hour gone, you've managed to either forget or stop caring. Have I somehow overestimated the level of your intellectual capabilities? Because if I have, please inform me now, so that I can gather my friends and my still intact hide, and we will depart while we still can." Rachit finished his whispered tirade with a clenched fist gesturing fiercely between Elovar and Juxeena. After his voice cut off, true silence filled the cave. Elovar stood looking slightly embarrassed in the cave entrance, but Juxeena was not so abashed. In fact, the frowning glare that she now shot at Rachit was such that Vayla began eyeing the far wall where her large war hammer stood next to the rest of the scant gear that the group had brought from their campsite. It was only three or four strides, at least for a Charr, but Vayla had seen enough Norn archers at work to know that making it to her weapon before the woman loosed her first arrow was not assured. At the moment though, Juxeena had eyes only for Rachit, and her glare only intensified as Rachit locked gazes with her defiantly. Juxeena finally planted her fists on her hips and opened her mouth, to which Rachit only raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms across his chest. Surprisingly this caused Juxeena to clamp her mouth back shut with an audible click and a grumble. Rachit merely nodded his head curtly as if he had expected nothing less. After a moment to calm herself slightly, Juxeena relaxed her posture, and when she spoke, she did try to temper her volume as best she could.

"Now look. We're going to get something straight right now little man. This is my job. I mean our job," Juxeena waved an arm in Elovar's general direction to include him in her correction, "and I only hired you on because a bartender I know in Lion's Arch recommended you. And as I recall, I told you that you were coming simply to provide additional hands since there were too many Grawl for just me and Elovar to carve through. I didn't promise you a share of the reward to be made to sit around for hours, and I certainly didn't bring you along to insult me. So if you don't like how I do things, then you're free to take a walk. But either way, from now on, we're doing things my way!"

"That, would be a very bad idea."

The deep voiced response seem to come from nowhere discernible, and had everyone spinning in place, previous disagreements suddenly forgotten. Something came down on Rachit's shoulder from behind, and he had the sudden desire to vacate his own skin. The only thing that kept him from screaming aloud was the quick realization that no one else had cried in alarm, that and the fact that out of the corner of his eye, he could see large but familiar claws on his shoulder. Spinning to face the Charr behind him, Rachit almost lost his cool.

"Blast it all, Chadok, how many repetitions and variations of 'Do Not Do That Ever' have I told to you?"

The massive Charr smiled down at him, a fearful sight from any Charr, but with teeth as jagged and plentiful as Chadok had, one usually had the impression that his smiles were those of a shark about to snack on your insides. Throwing back his hood, Chadok let his black and stringy mane flow loose down his equally black leather armor. His fur was a dark gray, with the occasional patch or strip of white showing where scarred skin lay beneath.

"In total? I've lost count. But at least three times this week alone." Chadok chuckled aloud and gave Rachit a rough pat on the head. Walking past the Asura, Chadok went and knelt before a backpack in the pile of gear without so much as acknowledging anyone else was there. As he began rummaging for something, Juxeena finally slid her dagger back into its sheath. She gave Elovar an indignant look, but Elovar could only shrug his shoulders and give her a dismissive expression. Juxeena strolled up behind Chadok, giving Vayla another of her glares as she passed.

"Well, Mister Sneak? Are you going to tell me why my idea is such a bad one? Perhaps you have something better?"

Chadok glanced at Juxeena from the corner of his eye, without stopping what he was doing. He scoffed at Juxeena's show of bravado. It took much more than childish taunts to even begin to rattle his nerves. Pulling a piece of cooked meat from that morning's breakfast from his pack, Chadok began gnawing at it as he stood.

"For starters, Norn, it's _Master_ Sneak to you. But as to your plan, such that it is, there are over four hundred Grawl between us and the objective. At least a third of them look like solid warriors. And more than a handful of them look like experienced veterans, as far as Grawl go anyways. At any rate, a direct assault by us would never get close."

Chadok stuffed the rest of the meat into his mouth and chewed it loudly with bared teeth, staring all the while into Juxeena's eyes. Rachit found it unnerving enough that he decided look elsewhere momentarily, and he was one already familiar with Chadok's behavior and style. Juxeena never flinched or wavered. Vayla decided to redirect Chadok and hopefully ease the tension in the air before it snapped violently.

"Four hundred? Are you certain Chadok? I've never heard of any Grawl tribe being so large."

The tactic worked, for the most part, and Chadok turned towards Vayla with only a slightly dismissive gesture towards Juxeena.

"Four hundred in the least, and yes I am most certain. Though you're right, most tribes don't get this big, but I counted at least five Grawl bearing the markings of chieftain. My guess? We've stepped into the middle of some sort of inter-tribal gathering. A sort of Grawl moot, if you will. Lots of trading going on. Lots of talking. Most of it bragging about the last raid that netted them the orb." Chadok reached up and used a claw to pry free a piece of meat from between two teeth. After licking the claw clean, he reached into a pouch at his belt, and fished out a small wad of cloth, and tossed it to Vayla. "And then there's that."

Vayla snatched the parcel from the air and began unwrapping the tiny bundle. Letting the last fold fall aside, Vayla stared down at a handful of dried and pressed flowers. Their petals were as white as the snow blanketing the ground outside, except for the edge of each petal, which was a deep dark red in color. Vayla looked at the old blooms, and then back at Chadok, who returned her questioning gaze with a smirk. Vayla instead turned to Rachit, holding the flowers down to his eye level.

"These mean anything to you?"

Rachit produced a small loupe from one of his many pockets, and holding Vayla's hand steady, proceeded to thoroughly examine the flowers up close. He hummed softly to himself, and occasionally murmured quietly enough that no one could make out what he was saying. At last he released Vayla's hand and tucked the loupe away.

"Botany was never one of my strong subjects. I do not recognize the particular breed of flower, but I do note that many of the folds and angles of the petals suggest someone intentionally pressed and formed them. It is entirely probable that they were utilized for some decorative purpose or the like. Other than that, I cannot discern or associate any relevant meaning with them."

"May I see those a moment?"

Elovar had come in from the entry way, and was now trying to get a closer look at the pressed flowers in Vayla's hand. Vayla obliged him, and carefully handed him the fragile blooms. Elovar looked the petals of the flowers over for only a moment before nodding his head.

"Yes, I thought I recognized them. These are Crimson Crown blossoms, at least that's what we call them back home. They're not exactly common, but if you know where to look, they're not that hard to find. I used to see them all the time around Eldvin Monastery. Does that mean anything?"

Chadok grinned again.

"Very good, human. More specifically the plant grows on the plains and in the forests all around Divinity's Reach. But the furthest east I have ever seen it grow is in the region around Nebo Terrace. Beyond that it starts getting too cold. Starting to make sense yet? Or do I need to spell it out for everyone?"

Rachit put a finger to his chin as he thought through the information at hand, and how the flowers related to it. Dried flowers not uncommon to see in Queensdale, even reaching into the regions of the Gendarren Fields. The odds of finding the plant growing in their current location was negligible at best. If the blooms had been simply picked and carried, they would have withered away from the cold alone, long before getting this far into the Shiverpeaks. Meaning the flowers would have to be picked and dried carefully, before being brought into the mountains. That meant considerable time spent elsewhere before coming here. One of Rachit's eyebrows slowly rose as he began to understand the implications.

"Chadok. Are you meaning to suggest that there are entire Grawl tribes here that have travelled from as far as Queensdale?"

Chadok nodded, the slightest bowing of his head, and frowned slightly.

"That or they have had contact with others of their kind from that area. From what I saw down there, the bulk of the tribes have been here for a week, maybe two at best."

Elovar's face suddenly brightened as he caught onto the line of thought that Rachit and Chadok had begun.

"That would mean that the Grawl got here just in time to ambush the caravan. Surely that can't be a coincidence."

Chadok shook his head softly as his frown deepened.

"I don't believe in anything as convenient as coincidence. If these Grawl got here just in time to ambush and ransack that caravan with overwhelming numbers, then that must have been their intent all along. On top of that, the only report of Grawl even being up here was following the loss of the caravan. That means that several hundred Grawl have managed to lay low for a week or more. And though the Grawl can be said to be many things, subtle and sly they are not. So how has no one, not even the Norn that live near here, not noticed them before then."

Elovar and Rachit both seemed to withdraw into further thought, but Vayla kept her eyes on Juxeena who was now exchanging dark glares with Chadok. Finally, Juxeena threw her hands in the air as she loosed a barking scoff. She waved a hand at the tunnel leading deeper into the mountain.

"What does it matter where they came from? Or how? Or why? They're Grawl. They're here, and they took something that doesn't belong to them. We're getting paid to retrieve the orb, not study Grawl migration patterns. And despite what _Mister_ Sneaky here says, I still say we just go in there, grab the orb, and get out. And Bear have mercy on any of the stinking apes that get in our way!"

Elovar seemed unsurprised at Juxeena's outburst, while Rachit seemed to still be lost in thought. Chadok on the other hand looked to be preparing to show his disagreement with Juxeena's proposal very physically, as his frown deepened and his claws began twitching towards the dagger hilts at his waist. Before anyone could react further, Vayla took it upon herself to step amidst them all, being sure to place herself purposefully between Chadok and Juxeena. She raised a hand towards both of them and looked sternly back and forth between them until she was convinced they had calmed, or at the least were not going to come to violence. Finally she lowered her arms and spoke not in anger or haste, simply the soft growling of a calm Charr voice.

"Both of you, calm yourselves. This bickering serves no end. Chadok. Juxeena is correct. We have a mission to complete, and we must not lose sight of that. You have done the Ash Legion honor with your adept scouting of our enemy." Vayla turned to face Juxeena who seemed to be looking very pleased that someone was backing her. Vayla raised a finger and pointed it firmly in Juxeena's direction. "But Chadok also has a valid point Juxeena. With so many enemies before us, it would be foolish to believe that a head long charge will succeed. Rest assured though, that I am not suggesting that we give up or despair. I simply suggest that we plan accordingly. And very carefully. Rachit, you tend to be full of ideas. Have anything for us now?"

Rachit looked up from where he had been staring at scribbles he had made in the dirt while lost in thought. Sweeping the ground clean with a clawed foot as he stood, Rachit folded his hands behind his back as he strode forward, and put on his best air of authority.

"The sheer quantity of Grawl indeed presents a significant obstacle. But there is no obstacle that cannot be overcome with equal and liberal applications of knowledge and force." Pausing a moment as his gaze retreated to some recess of his thoughts, Rachit seemed to be considering yet another idea. After a moment, he gave his head a shake with a slight twist of his mouth, as he cast the consideration aside. "Our primary objective, of course, is the retrieval of the orb. However, with so many potential enemies placed between us and our goal, we will need to consider one or more secondary objectives, in order to make achieving our primary goal a realistic possibility. First amongst those secondary objectives, if I might so humbly suggest, should be a reduction in the volume of Grawl present in the cavern."

Elovar's face brightened at this, and a smile appeared as he stepped forward.

"What you need, is a distraction. Something of a specialty of mine, if I might add."

Rachit nodded. "Yes, some sort of attention seizing event would have a high probability of reducing the immediate threat, but I do not believe that a single distraction will grant us easy access to our prize. I have a few possible contingencies bubbling about, but I require additional information and time to fully analyze what we have observed here, before proposing possible courses of action. For now, I suggest we gather our gear, and return to camp. I need time to think."

And with that, Rachit turned and walked over to the pile of gear against the far wall. Most of which, not surprising to anyone who had worked with an Asura, was his. After a moment, Vayla joined him, and then the others were not far behind. Packs were quickly donned, and weapons readied by those that had them. And then, with only the soft sound of leather and cloth and the occasional whisper of swinging chain to note their passing, the group quietly departed.

The walk back to camp was uneventful, as far as any unwanted attention was concerned. Chadok seemed to vanish occasionally when no one was looking at him. Then would suddenly be waiting for them around a turn or near a tree in their path, warning of Grawl patrols or less than friendly native fauna ahead. In either case, Juxeena would adjust their path with warnings of staying quiet and close. Rachit noted mentally that there had not been much talking since they had left the cave, though whether from a lack of a need or desire was neither clear, nor important to him. He also noted that the tension that had built between Chadok and Juxeena seemed to have dissipated somewhat, as if the open air of the lightly wooded mountainside allowed their equally large egos more room to stretch out in. Rachit was not so quick to dismiss the issue altogether though. He was much more fluent in reading structural schematics and golem designs than he was with reading people, but even he could see the looks that Chadok cast at Juxeena when she wasn't looking. Which, Rachit noted again, was quite often; since Juxeena appeared to be ignoring Chadok as purposefully and blatantly as possible. He made a final notation to keep tabs on the situation, but left the direct observation to Vayla, who locked her gaze on both Chadok and Juxeena anytime they were in close proximity.

Instead, for most of the walk back to camp, Rachit was lost in thought over their current predicament with regards to the Grawl. The inherent problems and challenges were some of the biggest he had faced since leaving Rata Sum, and he relished them. As an Asura, Rachit saw a problem as something begging for a solution, and challenges were mere bumps on the road towards completion. Rachit was so engrossed in his musings that when they finally arrived at camp, he nearly walked right past it. Though no one could have blamed him had he done so. Chadok had chosen a good spot amongst a few trees against the rock face placing the camp out of the way of game trails, and Juxeena had rendered their few tents practically invisible simply by adding some branches and foliage from nearby plants. On passing inspection, the campsite simply looked like a copse of scraggily trees surrounded by several equally scraggily looking shrubs. As Rachit doubled back the few extra feet he had gone, he noted Juxeena unfurling her large blanket of furs under what was little more than a lean-to, set up next to Elovar's tent. The lean-to actually encompassed the whole of the human sized tent, and aided in the overall camouflaging effect. Elovar was already sitting on a small rock in front of his tent in just his shirt, his dirtied robe on his lap, as he meticulously set about trying to remove the now ingrained dirt that Juxeena had flung earlier. Chadok tossed his small pack into the tent he shared with Vayla before growling something about heading back out to scout around, and disappeared silently into the brush. Rachit nodded noncommittally as the grumpy Charr vanished from view, and then walked into his travelling laboratory, as Vayla slid into a sitting position out front. It was little more than a furnished tent, but one sized for a human. Thus Rachit, being small even for an Asura, was able to place a small desk, two reading stands, and even a work bench to perform any studies or experiments that couldn't wait to get back to a proper lab. Unhitching his backpack, which was quite literally as big as he was, Rachit swung it around to land softly on his workbench in the back of the tent. Looking around at the mess of papers and small odds and ends, it made him feel like he had never left home. And as comforting as the feeling was, it also made him annoyed.

"TAG? TAG where are you? Get out here you miniature malcontent!"

Rachit began rummaging through piles of notes and work, clothes and bedding, all whilst grumbling harshly under his breath. Vayla watched him from the corner of her eye at the tent's entrance, a tight smile forming along her muzzle. Rachit's actions were not intended to amuse, but Vayla found his simple troubles to be relaxing. But not because of any ill will or malicious intent. She had actually come to be quite fond of the little Asura whose presence seemed to fill any room he entered. Rather, her amusement was rooted in the simple nature of his troubles themselves. Spying on Grawl from a cliff side in freezing temperatures, elicited little more than mumbled discomfort from him. Yet if a tool went missing, an experiment repeatedly fail, or, as in this case, TAG being hard to find; he could become a whirlwind of mock fury. Vayla suspected it to be somewhat intentional, but whether it was or not, she still found it amusing. At last, Rachit turned over one last pile of what looked like scrap metal, and groaned. There beneath the pile, laying on its back, was TAG; Rachit's rather ramshackle looking golemite. It had the familiar stocky and domed design common to many Asuran golems, except that TAG was barely half Rachit's size, and its frame and appendages seemed heavily worn and used. The fist-sized crystal that sat in the middle of its 'head' was dark, and its arms and legs were frozen in place; as if it had shut down while carrying something and in midstride. Rachit sighed as he hefted the small golem up and over to his workbench. Vayla turned her attention back to the rest of the campsite, namely over to where Juxeena and Elovar had taken to talking quietly with each other. Rachit continued speaking aloud, but by this point, it was mainly to himself.

"Oh, you are the most helpless helper I have ever designed. What did you do this time I wonder, hmm?" Taking up a small rod with a round green crystal embedded in the tip, Rachit began slowly passing the tool over the inert golemite, and as he did the crystal would occasionally hum and glow softly. He grumbled and clicked his tongue in response to the tools soft noises. "Another imploded servo-actuator? And it looks like you've managed to dislocate one of your bipedal impellers as well. I can't leave you alone for a moment."

Rachit set his first tool down, and opened a small box on the table. He pulled out something that looked like a small wrench, except that the angles were all wrong, and it had what looked like slim lengths of metal, in various shapes and sizes, dangling from one end. He placed the mouth of the wrench gingerly onto something in the golem's arm socket, and carefully arranged the slim pieces of metal so that they slid into various contact points around the arm of the golem.

Vayla's lowered voice floated in from the front of the tent. "Do you think that this was a bad idea? Coming here, I mean."

Rachit continued working, now digging into his toolbox again. "What's that? A bad idea? Well, it may yet prove to be. But I've had to rough it before. Besides, I think I have a spare servo around, and with a little tweaking to TAG's resonator core, it should work well enough until I can make proper repairs. And the impeller is easy enough to reseat. He should be fine. Assuming he doesn't walk himself off a cliff, or something equally fatuous."

Vayla turned to look into the tent, one of her eyebrows raised. Rachit caught her gaze as he pulled his head from the tool box and came up short, feeling the sudden urge to clear his throat and find the nearest location to hide himself.

"Ah. Uh. What, ah, what was the question again?"

"That's not what I was talking about, and I'm pretty sure you know it. In the unlikely case you are that naïve though, I meant those two." Vayla gave a quick flick of her claws towards where Juxeena and Elovar sat speaking softly. The human was finishing the last of the cleaning to his robes, and she seemed to be trying to nap. "I mean, there we were, perfectly content with a belly full of mead and meat, and then they come out of nowhere, wooing us with gold. And by us, I mean you. Next thing you know, here we are freezing our tails off, waiting to see whether Chadok or the Norn throws the first punch. Not exactly what I had in mind when we first started out."

Rachit left what he was doing and waddled to the front to stand by Vayla, his hands folded behind his back, as he often did when trying to formulate just the right phrase. Finally, after a moment of thought, he nodded softly.

"I would have to politely disagree. You and I set out to see new places, find new things, and quite possibly make new discoveries. And I can only assume that Chadok tagged along because he had nothing better to do. "

Vayla snorted at that, and the claws on her feet gouged small furrows into the dirt.

"He came along to be a nuisance. And take every opportunity to try and one up me. He's been like that since the first time we crossed paths in fahrar."

Rachit patted Vayla on the shoulder, something he mentally noted that he didn't get to do very often.

"Be that as it may, one cannot argue that we have not accomplished what we set out to do. I myself had never been any further east than Lion's Arch, and here I am standing in the Shiverpeaks, at elevations that dwarf even Rata Sum's altitude. I may not like the weather entirely, but I am fully appreciative of the experiences it has provided. And the views aren't half bad either."

Vayla nodded in agreement, but something still nagged at her. "But why us? I saw the two of them come into the tavern that night. They took a single glance around the room, and then made a line straight for us. It made me doubtful then, and it keeps me cautious now."

"My dear Vayla, you're always like that. It's what makes you such a valuable companion. Every good researcher needs someone who takes nothing at face value. It makes us double check our work and assumptions. But if it makes you feel any better, I did take time to verify the validity of their tale before we left. A human acquaintance of mine referred them to us. Or us to them, I suppose, depending on how you look at it. Had they simply wanted brutes to help, then there is always a preponderance of puerile pugilists to select from in that city. But they came to us. Which means they need more than just brawn, which in itself suggests that those two are at the very least smarter than they look. Well, the human at any rate. So you go right on doubting my friend, but do not worry about our new companions too much."

Vayla smiled then, her fangs showing just slightly as she did. It faded just as quickly though. "What about Chadok? He's making things more strained than they already are. Perhaps we should send him away."

Rachit sighed as he turned and went back to his work bench. "Chadok is Chadok. His ever aggravating behavior notwithstanding, his skill set has proven useful in the past, and unless I mistake my calculations, should prove most useful in the coming operation. Though I can't say I'd be terribly heartbroken if he decides to leave afterwards."

Vayla's smile returned, comforted slightly in the fact that Rachit's feelings mirrored her own. She watched him for a little while longer as he carefully adjusted one thing after another on TAG's frame. Her amused look changed to one of confusion when Rachit produced a rather large leather wrapped mallet, and hefted it over his head. He paused and looked back at Vayla with an apologetic grin.

"You may wish to cover your ears, my dear."

Juxeena let her eyes fall completely shut, after having kept them half lidded just enough to see that the Asura and female Charr had obviously been talking about her. Elovar was humming quietly to himself, content with the cleaning of his garments.

"You know E-lo, I'm starting to think that bringing these guys along was a mistake. We've been at this for less than two days, and that little squirt and his walking throw rug are already trying to take over our job."  
Elovar rolled his eyes as he sighed to himself, but he didn't bother even looking over at his friend. She was always so distrusting of anyone that they happened across that this had become a common theme in their travels. They would meet new associates, perhaps collaborate together for a bit, and then Juxeena would chase them off, certain that everyone was trying to dupe her in one or another. Everyone except him of course, though he still hadn't quite puzzled out what made him any different. He figured it had something to do with the fact that he was willing to put up with her frequent bouts of paranoia and sullenness, but he also suspected that there was more to it than that.

"Yes, honey. I'm certain that the big mean Charr lady kept you from running head long into Grawl Town because she wants to be the boss."

Elovar could hear Juxeena shifting, and suddenly felt the warmth of her breathing down his neck. He paid it no mind and set about folding up his good robes that he gotten as clean as he could manage considering the circumstances. For a moment he wondered if Juxeena was going to do anything, or at least say something. But she just sat there, breathing slowly. Elovar began to get the feeling that she was watching the Asura and Charr woman across the way. Shaking his head, he bent down and pulled a sewing kit from his pack, along with a billowy white shirt. As he began examining a sleeve with a pulled seam, he heard Juxeena finally lay back down.

"I still say they were a bad choice. Especially that sneak of a Charr. Never have liked those Ash Legion types. Just as likely to stick a knife in your back as look you in the face. And no sooner have they pulled the blade out, then they've sold you out to round out the experience."

Elovar let his hands drop into his lap with the shirt. Chadok didn't strike him as the most friendly of persons, but considering who had vouched for him, he could only assume they were not in any immediate danger. But he did have to confess that this particular Charr made him especially nervous. The other two tended to put him at ease, even the Charr woman. She was definitely not what had expected from any Charr, considering all the stories he had heard growing up.

"Well Jux, nobody twisted your arm and forced you to choose them. As I recall, it was you telling me that the references of that bartender were high praise as far as you were concerned." Elovar looked over at Juxeena then, and though she seemed to be the picture of a leisurely napping Norn, he sincerely doubted she had dropped her guard that much. Her face was the only thing spoiling the picture, as she had screwed it up into a rather sour looking frown, and Elovar knew he had made the point in the argument.

Nodding to himself, Elovar turned his attention back to the shirt that he had pulled out to repair. He dug through his sewing box until he found his white thread, and unspooling a length, made ready to thread his needle. Just as he was about to do so though, he flinched, startled, as a loud metallic thumping began echoing throughout the campsite, assaulting his ears. Looking across the way Elovar caught sight of Vayla backing away from the Asura's tent, her clawed hands pressed down over her ears. Before he could react any further, Juxeena's tall legs strode into view and quickly covered the distance to the other tent. Elovar let the still unrepaired shirt drop to the ground as he stood quickly to follow her.

"Juxeena, wait. Wait! Ah, hell."

Vayla was actually a little surprised at the amount of noise that Rachit had suddenly begun making, once he had climbed atop the table for what he had called optimum leverage positioning. In addition to the loud clanking noise every time the hammer came down on the wrench shaped object he had affixed to the golemite's arm socket, Vayla noted small bluish-purple sparks arcing along the slivers that Rachit had been so carefully placing earlier. As she took another step backward, her peripheral vision caught sight of Juxeena bearing down on them with a fierce glower on her face. Vayla quickly forgot the inconvenience of the noise and managed to take a quick step to place herself between the angry looking Norn and the tent, and let her hands drop to hang loosely at her sides. Juxeena stopped just short of trying to trample Vayla down, but there was hardly a hair of space between the two warriors when she did come to a stop. Vayla fought the urge to raise her head, as Juxeena stood head and shoulders over her. Instead, she simply turned her eyes upward with a slight curling of her snout, holding gazes with the Norn. For a moment they seemed frozen in time, staring and unmoving. Elovar came to a stop just off to one side, his eyes going wide at the looks on their faces. Amber gold Charr eyes locked onto ice blue Norn, both of them full of tension and unbending pride. Elovar started to raise a hand, but stopped before reaching out to Juxeena's arm, not certain that he wanted to get that close to the current situation.

"My apologies. Have my maintenance efforts perturbed your pursuit of placidity?"

Elovar hadn't noticed that the metal banging had stopped, and judging by how Juxeena and Vayla were still staring each other down, neither of them would have noticed if the mountain started coming down around their ears. Elovar slowly pulled his eyes away from the standoff in front of him, and looked over to where Rachit now stood atop his work table, leaning on the leather mallet with one clawed foot still bracing against the golem. Elovar tried to put on a pleasant smile, as he stepped past the two women with only a momentary sideways glance, and gave friendly but dismissive wave to Rachit.

"Oh, we weren't sleeping or anything. Just talking. I think that maybe the sudden noise just startled us is all. Isn't that right? Juxeena?"

Elovar looked back over his shoulder, the smile on his face now there purely by force, and tried to will Juxeena to back down for a change. To her credit, Juxeena did relax slightly, but she made no move to back off. Instead, she finally broke her gaze from Vayla's, and turned to look over the Charr's head to stare at Rachit. Vayla took the opportunity to defuse the moment further, and took a half step back, but still kept herself between Juxeena and Rachit. With a last glance towards Elovar, who was beginning to look relieved, Juxeena gave a grump and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yes. It was very startling. And very likely alerted everything within a mile of here as to where we are. So tell me. Are you intentionally trying get us killed? Or are you just stupid?"

Rachit stood flabbergasted, his jaw involuntarily dropping open. The mallet, now forgotten, toppled over and off of the table to land in the dirt with a dull thud. Juxeena's insult would have been enough to set most reasonable people off in certain situations, but to an Asura, an insult towards one's intelligence was the pinnacle of insults in a culture that prided itself on being creative with verbal warfare. Rachit took two steps forward, coming to stand at the end of the tabletop, his clawed toes just hanging of the wooden edge, and pointed an equally clawed finger at the Norn women who still stood a full body length higher than he was now.

"Now you listen to me, you skritt-sack sniffing bookah. I was constructing my first semi-autonomous golem before you had learned to control your bodily functions." Rachit's voice had dropped to a low hissing growl, and his speech seemed to punctuate the rows of sharp teeth that filled his small mouth. As he continued to speak, his hands curled into fists and his eyes narrowed nearly to slits, as his ire built towards anger. "And! And! I was experimenting with gravitational nullification fields while you were still playing in the dirt. The simplest Asuran infant would outperform your primitive cognitive processes!"

"You little dung heaper!" Juxeena reared back a fist and rushed at Rachit, her face reddened by a mixture of anger and outrage. She had gone barely a single stride though, when she suddenly came up short and found herself falling backwards with the breath gone from her chest. Her rump hit the ground hard, and though she slid another pace, her quick reactions managed to get her hands under her to keep from rolling over backwards. Looking up, Juxeena saw Vayla squaring off with her. The Charr's arms were raised and ready, her tail hanging still behind her, and she growled loudly as her snout pulled back in a vicious looking snarl. Juxeena began quickly pushing to her feet, but Elovar was there before she could take a run at the Charr. He grabbed at her wrist and braced his other hand on her stomach.

"Jux, stop! He's just being Asura, you know that. Let it go."

Juxeena tightened her hands into fists the size of cannon shot, and looked down at Elovar, but only so that as she prepared to push him aside, she could be certain that she wasn't about to push him into something too hard. She was angry, and she was ready to take a swing at Vayla. Several swings preferably. But she wasn't about to hurt Elovar to do so. Before Juxeena could act though, the small camp site filled with the sound of choked laughter. Juxeena looked around for the source of the mocking sound until, from the corner of her eye, she noticed Elovar glancing upward. Doing likewise, she spotted Chadok perched in the branches of the largest tree in the copse. She watched as the large Charr dropped to the ground, landing with more grace and less sound than she would have thought possible for someone of his size and bulk. Chadok stepped up to Vayla, whose look only worsened as her ears lay flat against her neck, and her eyes narrowed as she looked up at Chadok. He was chuckling to himself as he scratched a spot of white fur just under his jaw.

"And here I thought that you were waiting for me to throw the first punch. Guess you got tired of waiting, huh?" Chadok turned his head just enough for him to look Juxeena up and down quite conspicuously. "Not that I could blame you. Though had it been up for wagering, my coin would have been on the Norn."

Vayla glared at Chadok as if she hoped to bore through him with her eyes alone. Her growl had ceased, and her snarl lessened, but it was still obvious to everyone that there was no love lost between the two Charr.

"Weren't you supposed to be checking our perimeter or some such? Or did something small and fluffy scare you up that tree before you could finish?"

Chadok only smiled menacingly as he turned his back on Vayla and walked over to where his gear and blankets lay wrapped next to a tree. He fished more food from one of the small pockets on his pack, and sat down to eat whatever it was. The previous tension now broken, Vayla turned to give Juxeena a last warning glare, before walking around behind Rachit's tent, where she leapt up on a small boulder and sat down, presumably to keep watch, her attention immediately directed everywhere but the immediate area of Rachit's tent. Juxeena watched her go, and though the anger that heated her blood was quickly diminishing, she still felt like giving the big cat a solid smack, just for good measure. Instead, she pulled herself easily out of Elovar's grasp before stomping back to her own blankets. Elovar simply stood there and watched everyone leave. Once it was apparent that the situation was well and truly past, he allowed himself a deep and relieved sigh. Shaking his head to himself, he looked from Juxeena to Vayla. He had never seen Juxeena this tense or terse with anyone before. If anything, Elovar had been expecting any trouble to have been between the two Charr and himself. The conflict between Human and Charr was beginning to show signs of wearing out, but the fighting and skirmishes had raged on for over century. For Humans and Charr to be fighting almost seemed the natural order of things to many in Kryta. In recent years though, the raids and open battles had begun drastically decreasing, and there were even rumors that a possible truce was on the horizon. But even if peace were to be declared tomorrow, Elovar would still be just as nervous sharing a camp with two Charr. Especially with one such as Chadok.


	2. Chapter 2 - Inspired Revelations

**Chapter 2**

**Inspired Revelations**

The sound of soft scraping brought Elovar out of his thoughts. Looking over at Rachit's tent, Elovar saw the small Asura back at work at the even smaller golem on his workbench. The hammer seemed to have been put away, and now Rachit was bent over the golem with much finer instruments in hand. Elovar knew that Juxeena was going to be in a huff for a while, and he had no intention of trying to make small talk with the Charr, so as nonchalantly as he could, he walked up to the small tent, and knelt down to peer in. It was quite messy, far more than he had thought possible, considering they had only been at the site for a single night.

"Um, Mister Rachit?"

Rachit's hands stopped their movement, and his head turned just enough for one suddenly enormous eye to peep out. At least Elovar thought it was enormous at first, until he realized that Rachit had donned some sort of eyepiece with numerous lenses on it, some still rotated up away from Rachit's face, but most of them over his eye. After a glance, the Asura turned his attention back to his golem and his hands went back to work.

"The name is just Rachit actually."

"I'm sorry?"

"My name. It is Rachit. I have not been fortunate enough to have been graced with a meaningful title by my college or krewe. Asides from which, Mister is a distinctively human title, and technically would not apply to me. Not to mention it sounds suspiciously similar to Master, and I can only imagine what Professor Gratz would say to that."

Elovar grinned slightly, though he couldn't say for certain why.

"Well, I suppose Mister is a title of sorts. And very Human, for sure. But it's not really a point of distinction of any sort."

Rachit stopped again, and this time turned his whole head to face Elovar.

"It's not? Really? Well then what is it for? I hear humans using it all the time."

Elovar smiled in earnest this time. There was something refreshing about talking with Rachit, after all the tension of the last several hours.

"We use them to be polite and a little bit formal, or in situations when you might not know someone's first name."

Rachit nodded to himself, his eyes darting about slightly as he visibly digested this new information.

"Ah, yes, the whole dual moniker issue. I see. But what about the feminine formations that I have heard? The Miss, and Missus, and that other one. Miz, I think? How exactly do you people keep those straight?"

Elovar rolled his eyes but chuckled softly, as he gave Rachit a friendly but dismissive wave and slid a little further into the tent.

"Honestly, I suggest you don't even try. If you ever find yourself in doubt when addressing a human woman, just throw the words beautiful and maiden in every now and then, and try to find somewhere else to be. Just in case." With a last cheeky grin, Elovar sidled up and knelt next to where Rachit was working. "But enough about etiquette. What's all this then?"

Rachit set the delicate looking tools aside and then lifted the arm of the golemite away and set it on the other side of the table.

"This is my current attempt at creating a compact but functional golem for travelling researchers. The Transience Assistor Golem, version four. It is supposed to have all the functionality and capability of a standard D-series golem frame, a construct almost five times its size. But as of yet, I am still purging certain kinks and obstacles from my design." Rachit pointed to a place along the golemite's body that appeared discolored from the rest. "Under here is a device that translates a pulsed energetic discharge from TAG's power core into a physical motion, which in turn allows for the manipulation of his arm." Rachit's clawed finger moved down and pointed to a spot where the leg sat just below the main body. "And under here is a miniaturized gyroscopic impellor. It allows TAG to amble about without falling over every step of the way. At least it's supposed to. Unfortunately, both have failed, so I am having to replace them. Again."

"Mark four? You've tried this before?"

Rachit nodded as he set about with a small pry bar, loosening panels along the sides of the golem.

"Oh yes. This current design contains all the refinements that I have made following experimentation with previous iterations."

"Oh. What happened to those then?"

Rachit paused for a moment, his hands twiddling the prying tool, then continued as he resumed speaking.

"The first was a true prototype, as I was proposing to squeeze almost a hundred years of golem advancements into a frame size so small that no one had ever thought to attempt it."

Elovar's eyebrow rose after a moment of silence from Rachit. "And?"

Rachit sighed. "And approximately twenty-seven-point-three seconds after powering up to eighty-six-percent of capacity, it…exploded. Rather spectacularly, actually. Unfortunately, it also took half my krewe's laboratory with, and singed me fairly well in the process." Rachit reached up with his hands and flapped the ends of his ears, which were slightly tattered and nicked as evidence of damage from long ago.

Elovar snickered slightly, but reigned himself in after a questioning look from Rachit. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh at you. But from what I've heard, explosions seem to be common in Asuran labs."

Rachit grunted, "Yes. Well, though they may be a standard work place hazard, they are not always intentional, I assure you." Rachit bent back to the golemite and continued with his work. "At any rate. The second failure was not quite as spectacular. It powered up, took a step, then fell over belching smoke from every opening and orifice as it burnt out every transitory pulse coupling and etheric regulator it had, all at once. The new lab still smells funny."

"And what of your third attempt?"

Rachit cleared his throat briefly, then set his tools back into his tool kit. "I would rather refrain from discussing the mark three, thank you."

Elovar just shook his head and suppressed the desire to laugh again. As he continued to watch, Rachit reached up with a hand behind what Elovar supposed was the golem's head, and then there was a click. Rachit used his other hand to give the golemite a quick rap on its center, and the entire front cover popped up. As Rachit pulled the cover off and set it down to lean against the workbench, Elovar was somewhat surprised at how clean and orderly the insides were arranged. Not at all what he had been thinking, based on the appearance of the Asura's tent. It did fit his expectations of looking incredibly complex though. Tiny slivers of crystals sat next to small glowing orbs, with miniature cogs and gears connected to boxes and armatures, and all of it intertwined with lines of what appeared to be finely spun glass. In short, Elovar was amazed.

"Rachit. Why would you want to work on something so complex out here? On the side of a mountain?"

Rachit pulled a small wrench from his tool kit, along with what looked like a thin slice of crystal with a short thin line attached to it. He then carefully threaded the open end of the line into one of the small boxes in the golem's frame. That done, he slid the crystal end into a slot on his wrench, and then set to work on something Elovar couldn't put a name to if had tried.

"Well, I would suppose that it mostly has to do with the testing and trials for the golem itself. If I am to create a golem meant for traversing into the deepest reaches of the wilderness, it needs to be designed to be capable of field repairs. Otherwise, it would become nothing more than a dead weight on an expedition that could be untold distance from any adequate repair facility." Rachit gave a twist and pull with the wrench and a small box with a rod protruding from it popped neatly out into his other waiting hand. "Though I suppose, there is also the fact that working on such projects has always helped me to think. The clarity of mind one must have while designing or repairing such a complicated device lends itself well to spontaneous realizations. Such as with our current state of affairs with the orb and the Grawl."

Rachit fell silent again as he began removing another component from lower on the golem's frame. Elovar watched on, but his mind began to drift back to the Grawl filled cavern, and questions began tumbling in his head. Why were there so many Grawl here? Why did they ransack a caravan? How were they supposed to get the orb away from so many? Rachit had mentioned the need for a diversion earlier, and while Elovar had spoken truthfully that illusions and distractions were something he excelled at, he had only begun considering the possible downsides to attracting the attention of hundreds of angry Grawl.

"Rachit, have you given any more thought to our problem?"

Rachit nodded solemnly as he continued working, and by now he had opened one of the small boxes and was again using his delicate tools to remove bits of crystal and metal, as well as insert newer looking versions of the same.

"I have been running through numerous permutations of methodologies with which retrieval of the orb would be guaranteed. Likewise, I have gone over the methods in which we all come out of the endeavor in a relatively single piece. I am afraid to say though, that by my calculations, the percentage of these plans that overlap, is extremely minute. And even with those few possibilities, the probabilities of any plan succeeding begins dropping the moment we put it into motion. And the numbers are not that big to begin with. Trust me in the fact that you do not want to know how narrow the margins for error are."

Elovar leaned back against Rachit's writing desk behind him. If an Asura was telling him that things were dangerously close to impossible, a race of people who tended to overstate anything's chances of success, then Elovar was concerned indeed.

"Well, we need to come up with something. Juxeena demanded partial payment up front, and just between you and me, she was not very lady-like about it either. Problem is we had to use that to get started. Namely to travel here, and hire you as well. If we don't get this orb, someone is going to very unhappy. In which case, I guess, unlikely is better than nothing. So what's the best plan you've managed to come up with?"

Rachit closed up the small box, then set his tools down as he turned to face Elovar. He leaned back against his workbench and folded his arms across his narrow chest.

"At the moment, the procedure that is most likely to result in success, and the condition of success being outlined as us in possession of both the orb and our lives, requires four things." Rachit raised one of his hands and began extending individual claws as he counted off his list. "First is access to the orb. We know where it is at the moment, but actually getting to it safely is a theoretical impossibility. Which brings us secondly, to diverting the attention of the Grawl, thereby allowing us to access to the orb. But then thirdly, a diversion creates the need to then remove the distracter from harm's way. And finally, extracting the orb while Grawl attentions are sufficiently diverted. Which only serves to complicate the third point. On top of it all I cannot be certain that so small a team can create a sufficient enough diversion as to even make such a plan possible." Rachit folded his arms back across his chest and shook his head slowly as he scuffed his boots in the cold dirt. "As I said, the probabilities are not in our favor. Given the resources at hand, my best estimates give us a thirty-five-point-three-three percent chance, at best, at getting the orb and getting out alive. Not odds that I would care to wager my life on."

Elovar's eyes lowered to the ground as well. The very thought of any attempt to reach the orb, much less retrieve it, seemed doomed to one form of failure or another. Pushing himself back up to his knees, Elovar reached a hand over and pat Rachit on the shoulder gently.

"We'll think of something. In the meantime, I'll let you get back to your work. And your thoughts."

Rachit smiled slightly as Elovar backed out of the tent, then turned and resumed his maintenance on the golemite. Elovar stood up once he was out of the tent and stretched his arms and legs. Looking west, he saw the sun was already past its midday peak, and would probably be setting behind the mountain ridge that lay in that direction in only a few hours. The camp was fairly quiet, with Juxeena and the two Charr doing their best to pretend they were the only one's around. Juxeena sat on her blankets taking a comb to her hair as if she intended to beat it into submission. Vayla was still sitting on her rock scanning the surroundings, though her eyes did occasionally dart towards where Chadok lay in his tent, snoring softly.. Elovar decided that he needed to walk some. Partly to ease the muscles that he had cramped while curled up in Rachit's tent, and partly to try and clear his head and think. And maybe more than a small desire to put some distance between himself and the Charr for a while.

Strolling away from their tiny campsite a bit, taking care to avoid Chadok's area, he headed in an uphill direction, back towards the cave they had found that morning. As his legs relaxed, his stride lengthened, but he made sure to not wander too far. Not only due to any wild animals or Grawl that may have been in the area, but also because he did not want to spook any of his associates, lest they think he was a wild animal or Grawl and loose an arrow before checking.

Elovar eventually found himself standing amongst several small trees along the snow line, where the dense snow from the mountain tops gradually faded to nothing but a thin layer of frost, before giving way entirely to bare cold soil. Looking further up the mountain, with the setting sun at his back, Elovar could just make out numerous thin wisps of gray and white rising and dispersing above one of the many peaks. He could only figure that they were the fingers of smoke from the many fires in the cavern of Grawl. Chadok's question from earlier in the day drifted back to his thoughts, and he shuddered slightly. Any thought or memory of Chadok, or other Charr like him, that Elovar had tended to affect him such. Chadok may have had a point, and be very intelligent, and have nothing but the best interests of the mission in mind, but he was still a Charr. And to Elovar that meant he was aggressive, violent, and not to be fully trusted. But again, barring all of that, he had a point. How did all the Grawl get there without anyone noticing? How had they remained unnoticed for so long? And how had no one noticed all that smoke? The smoke. There was something about that itched at the back of Elovar's mind, but he couldn't quite grasp the thought that was trying to form. At a sudden screech from above, Elovar dropped into a crouch and then froze in place, the many lectures from Juxeena seeming to rise suddenly in his mind. Get low, don't move, look at everything. His eyes rose up in the direction the screech had come. He couldn't make anything out in the now fading light, until a second screech came, and two large white blurs dropped from the sky and landed, in a spray of snow and frost, on a ridge some hundred paces away. There was some muffled squawks, and another sound that Elovar couldn't quite place, and then suddenly, a small form tumbled over the ridge and slid down the slope for a few paces. The two large creatures that had dived down came bounding over the ridge and easily glided after the smaller creature as it tried to scuttle away. From this distance Elovar could not make out the smaller creature, but the larger ones he could easily name, again thanks to Juxeena. Owl griffons tended to hunt at dusk and dawn, typically alone or in pairs. Seeing nothing other than nature playing out, Elovar started to slowly back away as the two predators cornered and closed in on their prey.

He hadn't managed to go more than a step when there came a distant bellowing sound. It was answered and repeated in rapid succession, all the while growing close very fast. Elovar was now ready to abandon stealth altogether and make a run for it, since whatever was coming sounded very angry. But something stayed his feet, as he rose halfway, still crouched and ready to run. He watched, and with a last cacophony of roars, the ridgeline practically exploded as a half dozen dolyaks came barreling over it, slinging the snow and the stones beneath aside with equal ease. The two owl griffons did not show any hesitation, and bounded away, lifting into the air, moving off to find an easier meal. Elovar saw the largest dolyak give the parting griffons a final roaring bellow before turning back to the others that had surrounded the small form. By this point, Elovar could only surmise the small shape was a dolyak calf that had wandered off. Taking a warning from the wildlife, Elovar moved off carefully, no longer wanting to be all by himself on the mountainside. Once he was certain that he was clear of the dolyak's line of sight, he broke into a trot, taking care of where he stepped. And as he jogged back to camp, tiny stones and loose branches skidding away as he kicked or stepped on them, the itch in the back of his mind began to rise again, only much stronger this time. And as he ran, he thought, and eventually, he began to smile.

The last sliver of sun was slipping behind the mountains as Elovar approached the campsite. Before he could even reach the tents though, Juxeena was on him, and he could see that the two Charr weren't far behind. The Charr didn't appear to be in any hurry, nor did they seem out of sorts in any way. Juxeena on the other hand was an entirely different matter. She was carrying her bow, her quiver strapped to her belt, and her face was dark with anger.

"Where the hells have you been? Are you trying to get yourself killed? Or eaten? Because wandering off at sunset is a great way to do just that. Do you just not pay attention? Well? No. Never mind. I don't care."

Juxeena turned to storm back to tents, but Elovar reached out to grab her wrist. He was most grateful that she stopped, otherwise she could have easily yanked him off his feet and dragged him along behind without noticing. She didn't turn back to face him though, but Elovar understood enough about her to know how she was feeling.

"I'm fine Jux. Nothing even saw me, thanks to your lessons I'm certain."

At the sound of a burbling growling noise, Elovar looked over to where the Charr had walked up, but were keeping their distance. Vayla looked as stoic as ever, except for a slightly bemused look for Chadok standing next to her. Chadok was quite obviously laughing, now that Elovar saw him. Beneath his hand, Elovar could feel the muscles in Juxeena's hand beginning to tighten.

"You see Vayla. This is why the Patriarchs never expanded across the Shiverpeaks. Who would want to deal with that?"

Juxeena grunted under her breath, pulled her wrist away from Elovar's grip, and walked back to where her blankets lay. She managed to keep herself from glaring at the Charr as she passed, though she did glance once, towards Vayla, who had apparently found the humor in what Chadok had been saying. Vayla's small smirk vanished quickly, and once again she was like a stone. Elovar hiked an eyebrow at the two Charr, and despite his inherent unease around the two of them, he felt like giving them both a solid talking to. Not that it would do any good. He had never been good at cowing or intimidating anyone, not even humans. Instead he started off towards the camp after Juxeena.

"Come on you two. I have an idea on how to finish this job. And get us out of here."

Elovar could see the two Charr look to each other for a moment from the corner of his eye as he passed. Chadok scoffed loudly, and Vayla only shrugged slightly. Much to Elovar's surprise however, they both followed. Elovar's heart very nearly leapt into his throat when he realized what he had just done. Ordering a couple of Charr around like subordinates. Elovar couldn't help but shudder and shiver quite noticeably, though he simply began rubbing at his arms and blowing into his hands, hoping to play it off as being chilled and nothing more.

As Elovar approached the tents he was only slightly surprised when a small and oddly shaped form came scuttling out from behind Rachit's tent. It was TAG, with a dangerously teetering armload of firewood, which the small golem managed to keep aloft despite appearing to wrestle with its balance every other step. It finally made it to the side of the small fire pit Juxeena had set up the night before, where it let the wood drop to the ground, scattering in all directions with a gentle clatter. Elovar giggled to himself as the little golem looked back and forth between the fire pit and the scattered wood with what could only be described as befuddlement. Juxeena on the other hand sat on her blankets, with her back against a tree, grumbling to herself. Elovar noted that her arctodus, Rhy'l, was curled up at her side. The animal had apparently finished its hunting and returned while he was gone. When Elovar looked over to smile at her, Juxeena crossed her arms across her chest and looked elsewhere. Elovar just shook his head slightly, though he still smiled. Sometimes Juxeena just needed to pout. Not that he would ever say that to her face. Or within bowshot. As Elovar knelt down in front of his tent, Rachit emerged from his tent across the way, wiping his hands on a rag.

"TAG you dim-witted dolyak. I instructed you to gather the wood, not scatter it like some precocious progeny. Now straighten this mess up. I am in the mood for some heated comestibles for a change, and soon. Cold jerky and cold bread can only sustain a being for so long."

Tucking the rag into one of the many pockets on his voluminous coat, Rachit's eyes and face lit up when he saw Elovar.

"Ah! Our ambulatory associate returns. I must say Mister Elovar, you had some of our company conspicuously concerned. We were able to hear quite a commotion from here. Are you well?"

Elovar nodded his head with a grin for Rachit, "Most well, thank you Rachit. And as to the commotion you mentioned, it was just a herd of dolyak protecting a calf from predators."

Rachit nodded appreciatively, and Elovar could have sworn he saw Chadok letting his tongue loll out slightly at his mentioning of dolyaks. Shaking off the small but inevitable shudder, Elovar reached inside his tent and withdrew with a small satchel in hand. Opening it, he produced a long thin wand of polished wood. The end he held was about as thick as one of his fingers, but the wand tapered down its length, so that the other end was no bigger around than a matchstick. Setting the satchel back inside his tent, Elovar slid over to the fire pit, which TAG was finally beginning to fill with kindling and firewood, and waved everyone to come closer.

"I've had an idea. About how we might be able to get the Grawl so distracted, that they'll never have a chance to stop us from getting the orb. But I've always found it easier to show instead of just speaking when I explain. So…"

Elovar gave a wave of his wand, and a flick of his wrist towards the nearby rock face of the mountain the camp sat nestled against, and suddenly the area was bathed in a soft pink glow. On the rock face there now appeared a recreation of the mountain peak that Elovar had seen earlier. And though it was slightly smaller in scale, translucent, and various shades of pink in color, the details were almost exact in their precision, down to the wafting wisps of pink smoke rising from the mountain's peak. Elovar lifted his wand again, but this time only to point and gesture with.

"It was the smoke that first caught my attention. Naturally with all those Grawl in there, with all their fires, they would make a lot of smoke. But as I walked and thought, I realized that while we were in that little side cave, I never once smelled smoke. Or the Grawl. Or anything else in the cavern."

Rachit nodded, a hand under his chin.

"Yes, I concur. While scouting the cavern from our position on the cliff, I was able to note the slightest of drafts, pulling in from the outside."

Elovar pointed his wand at Rachit with a smile.

"Right. And since the smoke is visible from such a distance, means that the smoke from all those fires are filtering out through just a few openings."

Those gathered around the still cold fire pit looked from the image on the rock face, to Elovar's excited face, and back to the rock face. Rachit stepped closer to the animated mountain scene on the wall, as if looking for finer details. Vayla simply watched Rachit, her face seemingly more blank and devoid of emotion than usual. Chadok just grunted and picked at something in his teeth. Finally, Juxeena rose and joined the group.

"What's your point Elovar? We obviously aren't seeing it."

Elovar's smile slid into a slight frown, and he pushed himself to his feet. Walking over to the now shimmering image of the mountain peak, he placed a finger where one of the trailers of smoke was appearing form the mountain side, the image rippling and distorting as he did.

"If the smoke is coming out here, then what is to say that we can't put something _in_ here. At the very least we could stop up some of these chimneys, try and fill that cavern with smoke. Or, I don't know. Something."

Rachit raised a hand then, pointing to one of the larger streams of smoke.

"According to my estimations, accounting for prevailing weather patterns, and temperature differentials at these altitudes, to allow for a dispersal pattern like this one, an opening would have to be somewhere between sixty and seventy centimeters. Now assuming this to be so, I could easily enter such an opening. If the channel maintains a somewhat consistent diameter throughout its length, we could possibly use it to our advantage. Possibly."

Elovar clapped his hands then, his smile returning. "Great. See? Ideas leading to ideas. And I have more. Ideas that is." Elovar walked over to the fire pit, now stacked neatly with firewood, and TAG standing nearby at the ready. With a thought, he dismissed the image of the mountain that he had created, and the apparition burst like a bubble, sending a shower of sparkling motes and streamers to scatter about, until a moment later they too disappeared. It wasn't until that moment, that anyone present realized just how dark it had become while they were talking. Rachit was the first to take any action, approaching the fire pit with a growl of annoyance.

"TAG, you immutable imbecile. Building a fire includes the igniting of the fuel, not simply stacking it there. Now finish the job."

TAG bobbed where it stood for a moment, looking first at the stacked wood, then at Rachit. After a few repetitions, it shrugged its arms, and emitted a confused sounding series of burbling beeps. Rachit grumbled as he walked over to stand next to TAG. Once there, he seized the little golem's head between his hands, lifting it off the ground slightly and giving it a good shake.

"That means light the fire you clunking cretin. Ignite it. Make with the flames!"

Rachit dropped TAG, who twirled in place for a moment as it steadied its footing. Turning to face the fire pit and its stack of wood, TAG raised its left arm. The left hand slowly retracted, and a small tube emerged in its place. There was a soft clicking noise, and suddenly a tiny jet of flame spewed from the tube. TAG began to wave the flame across the wood in the fire pit, and some began to catch. Before much of the kindling was lit though, the jet of flame slowly shrank in length, and at the same time a shrill whistle began to build in volume, apparently coming from TAG. Everyone cupped their hands to their ears as the whistle built into a screeching wail. Juxeena looked to Elovar, seeing him lean away from the small golem, trying to increase the distance from it by any slim amount. Juxeena turned towards Rachit, and raised her voice as best she could.

"Shut the damned thing off!"

Rachit shot a wide eyed look at her, then looked back to TAG. He raised a single finger, as if to signal for her to wait a moment, then turned and quickly dashed into his tent. Juxeena didn't like the reaction at all, and turned to see how the two Charr had reacted. To her surprise, the only thing she saw was the blur of Vayla's tail as she dove behind a nearby rock. There was no trace of Chadok, as usual, but Juxeena didn't waste any more time wondering about it. Instead, she dived towards Elovar, and wrapped her arms around him as she pulled them both to the ground. She pulled him close and tight, and managed to get her back turned towards TAG just as the screeching stopped. The campsite fell deathly silent for the span of an eye blink, and then the silence was shattered by the roaring boom of an explosion. Juxeena squeezed her eyes shut as she felt heat against her back, and a concussive thud pushed against her, blowing her loose hair all around her head. After the initial blast, Juxeena was able to distinguish the sound of metal impacting rock, and the scattered tapping of rocks and debris landing on all the various materials and surfaces all about the campsite.

Once the noise and heat had passed, Juxeena slowly opened her eyes, looking around carefully. The side of the campsite that she could see, namely her lean-to and Elovar's tent, seemed mostly unaffected. Some of the light and loose articles that Elovar had left scattered near the front of his tent had been blown about, but other than that, most of their possessions seemed undamaged. As she was about to look over her shoulder, she noticed that Elovar was swatting heavily at her arms which were still wrapped around him. Looking down, Juxeena noticed for the first time that Elovar's blond haired head was buried in her bust. Blushing fiercely to herself, Juxeena practically pushed Elovar away from her chest. Elovar landed on his side before rolling onto his back, gasping for air, a borderline horrified look crossing his face as he tried to calm down.

"Okay. I'm good. All good. Yup, just fine."

Gingerly climbing to his feet, Elovar tried to walk his nervous energy off, fanning himself with his hands. He finally stopped in front of his tent, his hands coming to rest on his hips. Turning back towards Juxeena, he now bore a slight grin.

"No offense intended hun, but let's try to never do that again. Because, well, you know. Ick."

Juxeena had pushed herself up to a knee, but stopped as her face began to darken.

"WHAT! Ick? I'll have you know there is absolutely nothing wrong with my…"

"Excuse me."

Juxeena turned her frowning glare down at where the voice had come from, and Elovar, flustered but now looking more relieved, did likewise. Rachit had reappeared, and had donned some sort of shielded helmet in the interim. It was little more than a small square plate of iron with a slit, which in turn was filled with dark looking crystal. The plate was hinged to the side of the helmet he was wearing, and Rachit was pushing the guard up and out of the way as he strode back into the now singed clearing.

"While I hate to interrupt the, er, discourse, that you are conducting, but I was wondering if anyone happened to observe where TAG went?"

The comment brought both Juxeena and Elovar up short. The both of them began looking around nervously, their own issues momentarily forgotten, replaced with the concern that a potentially explosive golemite was missing.

"It's over here."

The three of them looked to the far side of the campsite, where Chadok was emerging from behind a small tree that didn't seem quite capable of having hid him from view. Bending down, Chadok came up with TAG dangling between two claws. TAG's blackened and charred form hung limply in Chadok's hold, except for his left arm which was still extended and interestingly, still on fire. Chadok strode over to the fire pit, and lowered TAG down until the small flickering flame made contact with the wood that hadn't been blown out of the pit. Once enough of the wood had caught Chadok stood up straight, blew out the last of the flame on TAG's arm with a large puff of a breath, and then tossed the small golem aside with a clatter of metal and stone. Chadok grinned in his usual toothy manner as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well. That's one way to start a fire. Maybe the little tinkerer should warn everyone anytime he does something more dangerous than pouring a cup water. Heh! "

Rachit grimaced as he watched Chadok toss his golem against a rock. He slowly waddled over to where TAG had landed and looked the golemite over. He produced his small diagnostic wand from a pouch at his belt, and the instrument began warbling and beeping in various pitches and tones the moment he held it over TAG's inert form. After only a brief moment, Rachit put the tool away.

"It would appear that TAG will be out of commission for quite a while longer this time. I will pack him up tonight. Blasted thing. I do apologize for the interruption. To all. Please Elovar, do continue. I believe you had indicated that you had further proposals for our tackling of the Grawl issue. "

Elovar cleared his throat, and did his best to straighten himself and his clothing. Once he felt calm again, he took a seat before his tent and raised his wand again. This time the image that coalesced was that of an elder looking dolyak. Scaled down so as to appear about the size of a large cat, and again, in the same sparkling pink colors that the earlier mountain vista had been. This image was also in motion, though in much more obvious manner than the previous image. It appeared as if the animal were walking, its hooves moving slowly beneath it, and its long shaggy coat of hair swaying gently in time with its stride. Occasionally the illusory dolyak would even stop to graze at unseen grasses, or to look around as if wary of predators. Elovar smiled at his recreation, taking pride in the animated image, even though he didn't truly require it to explain his plan. He had always thought better with pictures, and they helped him explain those thoughts as well.

"The dolyak I saw were too few to make a large herd. But even so, their small numbers would be more than enough to cause a little momentary chaos. Especially in an enclosed space like that cavern."

Vayla nodded at this idea and strode around the now steady fire to get a closer look at the animated image of the dolyak on the rock face. She reached up and poked at the image with a claw. The dolyak rippled and shimmered momentarily, but remained otherwise unchanged. Another nod, and she turned back to the group.

"A charging herd is a common tactic among war bands that prefer sheer quantity over quality in their war beasts. It would be easy to imagine the sort of distraction and destruction even a wild herd of stampeding dolyaks could do to an unprepared enemy force. But my question is how. How could we lure a herd of wild dolyak into a cave system, and at a charge no less?"

Elovar's eyes gleamed as he gave Vayla a grin, and then looked over in Juxeena's direction.

"I happen to know someone here who has achieved that very feat before. Or one very close to it. Remember our visit to that trading post Jux?"

Juxeena, for her part, didn't seem to register what Elovar was implying. The confused look on her face told everyone else as much. But then the look began to fade, and realization started to replace it as memories came rushing back. Juxeena started looking around at the faces of her companions watching her, and she practically leapt to her feet as she took a step back from the fire.

"Now wait just one minute. That was a complete accident. And I was nearly trampled for my trouble. Why on Tyria would I want to do it again. No. No way!"

Rachit and Vayla exchanged confused looks as Juxeena stomped back over to her blankets, but Chadok only laughed aloud.

"HA! Now that sounds like a story that needs to be told. And here we are gathered around a campfire to boot. So spill it Human. What makes this Norn so qualified to herd animals?"

Chadok's tone was snide and clipped, and the gestures he made to infer Juxeena were less than friendly looking. Elovar looked over to make sure Juxeena was alright, and once convinced she was simply doing her not-pouting routine, he sighed to himself.

"About a year ago we were trekking through the Snowden Drifts region. Why exactly I can't remember, but it was probably part of one job or another. At any rate, we were running low on supplies, and so we made camp not far from a trading post."

Elovar sat down on his own blankets in front of his tent, twirling his wand through his hand and fingers. Vayla followed suit, leaving the rock face and the animated dolyak that was still there, and coming to sit next to where Rachit stood by the fire warming his hands. Elovar suddenly stopped his wand from twirling across his fingers, as if he had only just realized that he was doing it. Tucking the fine wand into his belt, he cleared his throat and continued.

"Anyways. We had accumulated a number of furs and hides from Jux's hunting while we were on the move, and so we went to see if we could trade them for anything. Naturally, they weren't exactly in high demand, but we managed to get a little food for them. But then this merchant approached us, saying that he had a client back in Divinity's Reach that was looking to purchase dolyak calfskin. Probably some noble or other looking for yet another way to set themselves apart. The why didn't really matter though, since the merchant was offering a hefty bag of silver for it."

Elovar paused for a moment, and looked over his shoulder. Juxeena was still sitting on her blankets, arms across her chest, and staring off into the darkness. All in all, the very picture of a sullen Norn. Elovar's head came back around as Chadok tossed a rock into the fire, causing the burnt logs to shift and settle. The plume of sparks that lifted into the air seemed to reflect Chadok's quickly shifting mood. It was obvious that he was already beginning to lose interest, and patience.

"Get on with it, Human. I want to hear the good part already."

Elovar sighed to himself, and reluctantly continued, knowing full well that Juxeena would exact some sort of revenge for his revelations. Suddenly, he found himself wishing he could have his words back.

"Alright. Calm down. So Juxeena figured it was an easy enough job, and left me to finish things at the trading post, as well as find things we needed once we got the promised payment. After I finished collecting the supplies we had already paid for, I started picking out the other things we needed. As well a few things that we wanted. Luxury items, that sort of thing."

A deep and grumbling scoff came from the other side of Elovar's tent, where Juxeena sat by her lonesome, bringing his story a halt once more.

"As I recall, you were trying to buy yourself a dress."

Elovar blushed slightly, and his eyes narrowed as he glared in the direction that Juxeena sat.

"It was nice cloth. I was going to break it down and reuse it as I needed."

Juxeena barked a laugh in response.

"It was silk. And _pink_."

Elovar sighed again, this time in frustration.

"Not that it matters, but it was a very light magenta. May I continue?"

Juxeena's head appeared from around the side of Elovar's tent wall, her face empty of emotion.

"It was pink. A pretty frilly pink silk dress. For you."

And then her head disappeared again, with only a hint of a snide smirk as she went. Elovar looked back to everyone else and cleared his throat uncomfortably. His exchange with Juxeena had not seemed to elicit any sort of response from the others, except Chadok, who was beginning to bear his teeth by this point, and not in a friendly manner. Elovar gave himself a shake without thinking, and pressed on.

"Right. So. Juxeena had been gone for a couple of hours, and I was beginning to wonder if she was going to make it back before nightfall. I was just heading back to the post when I heard a rumbling sound in the distance, and then I started hearing the shouting. I hustled back to the post to find the place in complete chaos. Vendor stands were smashed and scattered, carts and wagons upturned, and everyone seemed to be in a daze. I managed to gather from talking to some of the merchants I had dealt with earlier that a massive herd of dolyak had come stampeding through the trading post, trampling everything in their path."

Chadok barked a loud laugh, which fell into an soft chuckle to himself. Elovar glanced over and noticed that the Charr had produced a number of skinned rabbits from somewhere, and was currently prepping them for the fire. Vayla was prepping food of some sort as well, but he couldn't see what it was from where he was sitting, though he could only assume it was meat as well. Rachit was already eating from a small jar sat between his legs, though Elovar couldn't tell what the jar held. He felt certain he didn't want to at the moment judging by the crunching and squelching noises the Asura was making. None of this stopped Elovar's own stomach from grumbling a reminder that he hadn't had a full meal since breakfast. He decided to wrap the tale up quickly, not only to avail himself of dinner as well, but also to mitigate angering Juxeena any more than he had already.

"So it wasn't until after nightfall, when Juxeena finally returned to camp, that I learned the rest of the story. She had snatched a calf she thought less than protected, only to find it belonged to one of the biggest herds in the area. And doylak cows can be downright vicious when it comes to their young. She was able to stay one step ahead of the herd on her way back to the trading post, thinking that the creatures would give up after a while. Well, she made it to the trading post, but they still hadn't let her go. She had just enough time to make the exchange with the merchant before the first dolyak came bursting through a tent wall. We had to hike for almost a week before we found another post to trade at. That one, fortunately, was more fortified than the last."

"And alas, we couldn't find the dress."

Juxeena came striding back into view, a cast iron pot in one hand and a burlap bag in the other, with Rhy'l slowly plodding along behind and sniffing at her heels like a house cat in anticipation of a feeding. Elovar recognized the small cast iron cauldron that had been in Juxeena's possession for as long as he had known her. The bag too was familiar in that it was where Juxeena kept their food stuffs, she often referred to it as the feed bag, but Elovar could only guess what was in it at this point. She hadn't had any time that day to hunt down or gather anything to eat. Though as soon as she reached the side of the campfire, and tumbled the contents of the bag out onto the ground, Elovar sighed. The small pile consisted of a few potatoes, a carrot or three, some smaller potatoes, and then a few more potatoes.

"Oh quit your complaining E-lo, and get to peeling some of these. I'm going to get some fresh water from a small stream I spied just upslope earlier. Be back in a bit."

And with that Juxeena spun on her large heels and strode from the light of camp, with Rhy'l still close behind. Chadok made sure to be just enough in her way so that she would either have to go around, or run into him. Juxeena evidently chose the latter, as their shoulders collided, though apparently not very hard, as Juxeena continued on her way as if she hadn't noticed. Chadok gave her back a rather unpleasant look that could have been smile, or even a sneer, or perhaps more disturbingly, a little bit of both. With a scoff in his throat her turned to Vayla where she sat pulling large pieces of dried and cured meat out of her bags.

"I'm tired of eating that days old garbage, and I'm not even about to venture a try at that…stuff." Chadok jerked a thumb at Elovar and the vegetables he was starting to clean and prepare. He punctuated the sentiment by turning his head to one side and spitting into the fire. "So you go ahead and help yourself, but I'm looking for some fresh meat tonight."

Vayla only flicked an eye at Chadok for a moment, certain that he was trying to show off, or put her down, and very probably both. See didn't look at him long though, and instead went back to preparing some spices to use on the older meat.

"Suit yourself Chadok."

Chadok gave only a small grumbling growl before he bounded into the dark in pursuit of his dinner. Elovar watched him go, and suddenly felt strangely off, as his body tried to relax and tense up at the same time. He was grateful to see the disagreeable Charr leave, but he was also struck by the fact that, once again, he no longer knew exactly where Chadok was. And if he had learned nothing else in the sparse time that he had spent around the Charr, it was that Chadok's greatest weapon was not being seen. Elovar forced the thought from his mind and tried to find something to distract him. Something other than the peeling of vegetables. Across the fire from him, he noticed Rachit was still snacking from his jar, but had now retrieved TAG from beside the rock face, and was beginning to tinker with the golemite again while he ate.

"Rachit. I have a question for you."

Rachit looked up from where he was working and swallowed.

"A varied assortment of dehydrated Annelid and Agaricus. Not as good as fresh, but one does what one can when so far from home."

Elovar stared blankly as Rachit went back to poking and prodding at TAG's inert form. His mouth started to move slowly as he tried to wrestle out what had happened. Vayla began to chuckle softly as she gnawed on her large chunks of jerky. She swallowed a piece, and then cleared her throat.

"He means dried up worms and 'shrooms.

Elovar gave his head a shake, as if hoping that would help to settle things in his mind. Naturally, it did little more than make him slightly dizzy.

"I'm sorry. What?"

Rachit looked back up at Elovar, an eyebrow raised curiously. After a moment of studying Elovar's puzzled face, Rachit reached down and lifted a handful of his jar's contents into the light of the fire. Elovar still couldn't make out exactly what the Asura was holding, but guessed from what Vayla had said a moment ago, that he had a fairly good idea of what it was. The thought brought up a slightly queasy feeling in his stomach for accompaniment. Rachit spoke up as he placed his food back in the jar.

"My apologies if I preempted your intended query. I believed you were inquiring after my choice of sustenance as I have found that most non-Asura are unaware of our native culinary preferences. In fact, many travelling Asura tend to simply eat whatever passes for the local fare, in order to avoid the slack jawed dumbfoundment or unfettered repulsion that often comes with requesting native Asura dishes in non-Asura dining establishments. I have misjudged the intention of your questioning, have I not?"

Elovar turned his face down to the potatoes in his hands, not wanting to offend Rachit with any unintentional reactions, and hoping that not looking at Rachit's food would make it easier to put it out of his mind altogether.

"Well, yes, but that's quite alright. Actually, I was wondering about your golem's malfunction."

Rachit's ears drooped slightly, as he glanced back at the scorched golemite. He suspected most of the damage was mostly superficial, but the failure itself was yet another setback in a long history of setbacks with TAG's design.

"I see. Well. Having not dug into his inner components yet, I cannot say what caused the critical failure with any degree of certainty. However, judging by what appears to have failed, and the manner in which it failed, I would wager a good guess that it had something to do with his pyrotheric transducer. It is far smaller than average, but again, designed to be capable of output comparable to an average unit. I imagine that once I get TAG's arm open that I will find the transducer, and probably other associated components, in less than optimal condition."

Elovar nodded slowly, which seemed to encourage Rachit to continue his explanations, despite the fact that most of what the Asura was saying came across as gibberish. After Rachit had been quiet for a few moments, Elovar looked back up from his peeling to find Rachit staring down at his golem somewhat discouraged.

"Okay. So it was an accident. Then I guess my question would be, could you do that on purpose? Intentionally?"

No sooner had the words rolled off of Elovar's tongue, Vayla gave a choked laugh, as she struggled not to actually choke on the piece of meat that had almost gone down wrong. Once she had swallowed though, her laughter came out like rumbling peals of thunder. Rachit looked to Elovar as if if he had been purposefully set up. He then shot a glare at Vayla, which seemed to only make her laugh harder. Finally he just turned his back on the fire and the group with a loud huff, and stood tapping a foot rapidly on the ground, with his arms crossed tightly over his chest. Elovar felt bad for hurting Rachit's feelings, assuming that was what had happened. Once Vayla's laughter began to subside, Elovar looked over at her, and his pleading look must have been plain enough for even a Charr to recognize, because she immediately explained.

"Don't worry about him. He just likes to take offense at generalizations so that when he falls into them, nobody calls him on it. Oh, go on Rachit. Answer his question."

Rachit spun back around, though he kept his arms crossed where they were.

"For the official record, I am not just another stereotypical Asura. But the answer your query is an affirmative. I could quite easily construct an explosive device. A variety of them in fact. Concussive, fragmentary, noxious, even exo and endothermic. I have thorough experience with them all. However, I do not have all the necessary equipment at hand to manufacture anything particularly elaborate at this juncture."

Elovar nodded his head thoughtfully as he listened. Some of the words flew by as unrecognizable syllables, but he understood enough of them for a grin to start forming as Rachit wound down.

"Well, how about something less than elaborate? Something small and simple. Something just enough to scare or startle someone who wasn't expecting it. Because if so, then I think I may have a final piece to our Grawl puzzle."

Rachit paused as he was again about to answer before Elovar had finished. But something in Elovar's words had obviously peaked his interest, for though his mouth did not open, his eyes widened considerably, and his left ear perked up almost to the point of standing upright. He suddenly turned and pointed a finger in Elovar's direction.

"You know, I just might have something. As it so happens, I was doing some component hunting in Lion's Arch, and procured a few small etheric capacitors for TAG. By themselves, they are less than impressive. But a fully charged, or perhaps slightly overcharged capacitor, could provide enough energy for quite a frightful bang." Rachit began pacing a slow circle around where TAG still lay on the ground. "Yes. Yes, yes. A single capacitor with a quick response transducer. Perhaps a little black powder for noise and smoke, and some oil for flame. Yes. It has potential."

Elovar set his peeled potatoes aside, and stood up, dusting off his lap as he did so. Walking around to Rachit had been pacing, he snapped to attention and gave the Asura a mock salute.

"I hereby volunteer to assist you in this matter. When do we start?"

Vayla chuckled to herself, but Rachit looked up at Elovar with serious consideration. After a moment, he nodded his head to himself and waved for Elovar to follow him as he turned towards his tent.

"Now. It will take time to charge many capacitors with the single concentrator that I have, so the sooner we start the better. And while we work, we can finalize our plans. Come, time is of the essence, and we must utilize every fragment we have."


	3. Chapter 3 - Grawl According to Plan

Chapter 3

Grawl According to Plan

The next morning, just before sunrise in the Shiverpeak Mountain range, Rachit found himself shimmying down a narrow crack in the top of one of those mountains. The vent had not been difficult to locate, being right where Elovar's illusory recreation the evening before had indicated, which had improved some of the calculations Rachit had made with regards to the young man. Rachit had not been greatly enthused when he had first laid eyes on the vent, which in fact was little more than a crack in the rock. Having his estimates be slightly off was nothing new to Rachit, but it was not often that he had to literally squeeze into his errors. The vent was only slightly smaller than his math had suggested it might have been, but it was still big enough for any Asura to wriggle through. The trouble was coming from the equipment that he had brought with him. Rachit reached up behind his head to free the small bundle of rope on his back from whatever it had snagged on, yet again, and chided himself for being so absolutely foolish in not accounting for his gear in his calculations.

"But no. Like a Skritt to the bauble."

The saying wasn't uncommon amongst his people, but even to non-Asura it would make sense. Running headlong for the first shiny trinket to catch the eye, without any care or concern for anything else around, or even for what it was you were running into. Rachit chuckled at the thought, that in contrast to running towards something shiny, he was merely crawling down a pitch black hole. Perhaps his people had once dwelled in such environs, but Rachit much preferred more open spaces. Giving a final jerk with a grunt, the rope came free, and Rachit with it. The sudden motion shifted his weight precariously, and Rachit suddenly found himself slipping from his holds. The vent was much too small for him to simply slip or fall straight down, but if the first hour or so of navigating the dark hole were any indication, the passage below was a mass of razor sharp bits of rock just waiting to slash him. Getting his feet out from under himself, Rachit tried to wedge them somewhere, while his claws scrabbled to find purchase on the walls, all in an effort to stop his slow but dangerous slide.

It only took a moment before Rachit had halted himself, but it was enough to get his heart racing. Not so much for the sudden motion itself, but rather for the leather case strapped to his chest, that he now felt pushed up to just under his chin. The case contained the explosive devices that he and Elovar had spent most of the previous night assembling. Due to the untested nature of the things, and at the emphatic encouragement of both Elovar and Vayla, Rachit had secured the units with rabbit fur and a few handkerchiefs, to minimize unnecessary shocks. He made a mental note to compliment Elovar's forward thinking, assuming everything went well enough. Placing a hand carefully on the case, Rachit slowly eased it off the wall where it had wedged, and gently lowered it back down to his chest, where he retightened it back into place. Releasing a breath that he hadn't even realized that he was holding, Rachit resumed his slow and dark descent.

Vayla slid forward from where she was crouched, to look around the corner of the boulder she and Elovar were taking cover behind. Her view was of a small green valley, that lead to a large cave opening at the base of a mountain. The cave mouth was, aside from being almost ten paces across and half as tall, rather nondescript and uninteresting. But Vayla's well trained eyes were drawn immediately to where two groups of Grawl sentries, four to each side of the opening, were hunkered down in clumps of bushes and brush growing at the foot of the mountain. In the hour since the sun began peaking over the mountain ranges, the sentries had only ranged out a few hundred feet before skittering back to their hiding places. Each time they spent as little time as possible in the open, and did little more than visually scan the valley. Vayla was able to confirm them as Grawl even at this range by their unwashed scent alone, but it always comforted her to know exactly who and where her enemies were.

As she watched, another Grawl from the left side of the cave mouth scampered out on all fours before stopping suddenly to stand upright. White fur and light grey skin made for wonderful natural camouflage higher in the mountains, but here in the yellows and browns of the dry grass the Grawl stood out quite obviously. The Grawl suddenly lifted a small curved bow to its ape-like face, then loosed an arrow only a blink of an eye later. The Grawl gave a soft barking shout, turning back towards his companions in hiding and pumping his arms briefly in the air. The Grawl then hurried off in the direction his arrow had flown, and was quickly out of Vayla's line of sight. Elovar placed a hand on Vayla's shoulder as he leaned close to her ears to whisper.

"What was that? What's up?"

Vayla just waved him back without taking her eyes off the spot where a rock had blocked the Grawl from view. She didn't have long to wait, as the Grawl came bounding back into view just a few moments later. The short bow was now stowed on its back, and it held what it had been firing at over its head. A large grey rabbit. The animal hung limply in the Grawl's hands, with a single arrow still protruded from its sides. Vayla hunched back down to kneel next to Elovar with a grumble.

"Probably the luckiest shot of his life."  
"Shot? What shot?"

"Never mind."

Elovar looked a little dejected from the brushing off, but Vayla was much too preoccupied to care. They had left Rachit at that sliver of a hole over two hours ago. There was no telling how far down he had made it, or if they had even found the right one. Rachit had assured her it was, but he would assure her that anything was well under control, right up to the moment it blew up in their faces. And then there was the Norn woman. A decent meal and a short rest had done nothing to improve her disposition towards being stampede bait. Though if there was anyone Vayla had ever met that could induce any living thing on the planet into a charge, it was that woman.

"Are you worried about Rachit?"

Vayla looked squarely over at Elovar now, who in turn shrunk a little under her stare. Vayla had to admit that even his obvious fear of her did little to diminish his now rather imposing appearance. In place of his fine robes and soft clothes, Elovar had donned a worn outfit of a rough and tattered coat and pants under a stained leather overcoat. A wide brimmed hat drooped over his head, casting shadow over most of his face, save for his unshaven jaw line. The outfit lent him a ruffian's air, of someone that readily found himself in trouble. But to complete the look he had adorned his coat sleeves with animal bones and teeth from some of Chadok's kills the previous day, and the band of his hat with worn arrowheads and small sharp looking rocks. Along with some old daggers strapped across his chest, Elovar looked ready to waylay a travelling merchant. Vayla had no doubt the look would intimidate the Grawl, if not her.

One thing that did give her pause though, were the twin swords that the man had strapped to his back. The two hilts that hovered just behind his shoulders were obviously well made, though not ostentatious. She had not seen him draw the weapons since he had strapped them on that morning, but if the blades were anything like their hilts, then Vayla had no doubts they were made by a masterful hand.

"No. He is smart and very resourceful. Not to mention stubbornly willful. Nothing short of the mountain coming down around our ears would keep him from being ready on time. And what of your friend? Are you worried that she may not come through?"

Elovar raised his head and tilted the brim of his hat back, so that he could look Vayla in the eye. Convinced that she was not asking out of spite or taunting, he just nodded his head.

"She'll do fine. She likes to complain a lot, and also has a stubborn streak a mile wide, but she always gets a job done. Even if it isn't in a manner that you would expect. Or would want." Elovar grinned slightly. Vayla just stared at him from one eye and her muzzle tightened in response, though he was uncertain how to interpret the reaction. He let the grin drop from his face as he pulled the brim of the hat back down. "She'll come through. Don't worry."

Vayla grumbled slightly under her breath, but went back to watching the Grawl sentries. Elovar sighed under his breath, and made a silent wish for Juxeena to come through. Looking over at Vayla, he couldn't help but be intimidated. Even with her back to him, the Charr woman was an imposing figure. She still wore a suit of chain beneath a tight leather coat, much like she had every day since he and Juxeena had hired the three of them in Lion's Arch. But it was the additions that made her seem even more a dangerous warrior than before. A metal helm, cut to accommodate a Charr's ears and horns covered her head and the top of her muzzle, while a veil of chainmail lay over the rest of her face. The most dangerous item though, was the massive war hammer that she held in her right hand. The head of the weapon looked little more than a rough hewn stone. But what it lacked in refinement, it more than made up for in size. Elovar swore to himself that the thing could have been used as the cornerstone for a foundation. Just the sight of Vayla hefting the weapon occasionally gave him pause. He could not imagine what it would be like to have even this small Charr charging at him, swinging her boulder of a weapon around. Somewhat incongruent with the rest of her outfit, there was a small bundle slung over her left shoulder. It was barely a half pace long, but it was fairly bulky and lumpy looking. What it was though, Elovar could not guess.

Just then a soft skittering of stone on stone came from behind Elovar. He was up and into a crouch in an instant. As he spun around towards the direction of the noise, he drew one of the swords from his back, holding it at the ready in his left hand. The sounds from Vayla behind him signaled that she had hefted her weapon as well. Both relaxed, lowering their weapons, as Chadok slowly emerged from a nearby collection of brush. As Chadok came over to join them Elovar knelt back down. He had no doubt that Chadok had made the noise intentionally, so that he and Vayla would not be taken by surprise. For some reason though the idea struck Elovar as odd. It was obvious that Chadok did not consider him a threat, and even though Chadok and Vayla were both Charr, Elovar had never seen the two look at each other with anything but animosity. The odd feeling came from assigning some sort of compassion, or any form of consideration for others to Chadok's motivations. Elovar concluded that Chadok had likely alerted them so that they would not accidentally attack him. That sat better in his mind, and Elovar nodded to himself as he finally sheathed his sword.

"We have a problem."

Vayla's head snapped around, a sudden look of urgency lighting behind her eyes.

"What kind of problem?"

"A really big one. We're in the middle of an op, what other kind could there be?"

"Explain. And quickly."

Chadok leaned back on his haunches, one hand on his knee while the other scratched at the white fur under his chin. After a moment the Charr shook his head.

"It would take too long to explain everything, so let me just sum up. First, there is still no sign of Rachit anywhere along the ceiling of the cavern, though I can't even pick out any vents up there with it that dark inside. Second, the number of Grawl just lingering around the orb is a hell of lot more than yesterday. And lastly, we're out of time."

Chadok pointed a claw down the valley away from the cavern entrance. Vayla and Elovar both followed his direction and gaze. Vayla was the first to note what Chadok had picked out, but Elovar wasn't far behind. A faint billowing cloud, only barely visible from where they now sat. But unlike any other of the clouds that morning, it was low against the mountains, and a dingy brown in color. When he realized what it must be, Elovar couldn't help but groan softly.

"Oh no. Damn it all Jux."

Chadok just shook his head. "She'll be here in ten minutes. Maybe less."

"She's early. By a lot." Vayla growled as she glanced towards Elovar, who could only shrug in response.

"She never was the patient type."

Vayla looked back around the boulder to observe the Grawl sentries momentarily. She doubted that they would have noticed the dust cloud already, but confirming for herself that they had not allowed her some slight comfort in that they still held an element of surprise.

"So what do we do?"

Vayla leaned back and turned back to the human. His concern for his friend was evident in his face, though Vayla was uncertain how to answer. The plan had been for Rachit to get into position first, then they would sneak in during the chaos the stampede would create. The plan was already falling apart, and they hadn't even engaged the Grawl yet. Vayla had a sudden desire for Rachit's presence. He was always full of ideas, and was excellent at improvising. Clearing her throat, she looked to the others.

"I'm not sure what to do."

Chadok stretched a leg as he yawned. "If you ask me, I say we pull out of this while we can. Storming a cavern brimming with Grawl based on a plan concocted by an Asura. We must have lost our minds. I say we abort this mess and try to come up with something different. Something better."

Elovar looked like he was upset, but only for a moment, as his face suddenly darkened beneath his beaten leather hat.

"We can't. I won't. Juxeena will be here any minute, and if we just leave, she'll go barreling in there with no backup. Not to mention Rachit. Who may be right where he needs to be, waiting for our signal to begin."

"If you have some way of salvaging this Human, then I'm all ears. But I'm not about to get myself killed for some trinket."

Vayla suddenly raised a hand as she leaned back on the boulder again. As Chadok's voice trailed off, Elovar was able to discern the sound of talking nearby. Vayla leaned over to peak out at the cavern entrance, but immediately yanked her head back. Leaning back on the rock, she sighed.

"New problem. More Grawl have arrived. Looks like a hunting party. A big one. Not much chance of us getting in there unnoticed now."

Chadok scoffed, "Speak for yourself, runt."

Elovar came to kneel next Vayla, peeking around the boulder. She had spoken truthfully. The new group of Grawl numbered well over a dozen strong. Perhaps closer to two dozen. In addition to the sentries that put almost thrity Grawl in the cave mouth, and all of them were armed. The new arrivals that Vayla had named a hunting party looked the part. They had little in the way of supplies, and carried only short bows and long knives as weapons. A lone Grawl with a bow was a nusience. Two dozen could kill a man easily. And Juxeena was going to run headlong into all of them. If that happened, then she would have to choose between being shot or trampled. Elovar turned his head to look back towards the dust cloud that Chadok had pointed out earlier. It was already gone, though a few traces of light brown still flitted on the winds. Juxeena was already in the valley. At the sound of raised voices from the cave, Elovar spun his head back to see the hunting party beginning to move off, though a few stragglers did not follow immediately. Time had run out.

Elovar stood up behind the boulder and made a final check of all his gear. His swords were secure against his back, and his wand was tucked into his waistband at his back. His coat was closed tight and nothing seemed to be hanging loose.

"And just what do you think you're doing Human?"

Chadok had come to rest against the boulder next to Vayla. She growled under her breath, but made a point of not looking in his direction. Elovar turned back just enough to look at them both for a moment before turning to face out into the valley.

"Just doing what I do best. Making myself the center of attention."

Elovar reached up quickly and drew his swords with a twirling flourish, then let them fall to his sides pointing down. Vayla nodded to herself as she looked at the blades shimmer in the light of the sun just peeking down into the valley. She had been right in her guess, the blades were as masterful as the hilt. Sleek and slender the swords spoke of speed and finesse, but to the knowing eye, they whispered of surprising strength and resilience. She looked up to Elovar's face, and saw him mouthing something to himself, eyes shut tight. Finally he seemed to relax, with a soft breathing sigh, and opened his eyes. Vayla was surprised at what she saw. As far as she could read humans, he may well have been a different man. A slight smirk twisted the side of Elovar's mouth as he stepped off into the valley.

"Showtime."

Juxeena was going to kill Elovar. Once they had the orb, and she had caught her breath, she was going to kill him. And she had thought up several satisfying methods during the last few minutes. Minutes that in retrospect had lasted an eternity. She skidded to a halt before a short ledge, and turned to look behind her. As she did the dolyak calf she had trussed over her shoulder bleated out its whiny keen. The wail was answered almost immediately by a cacophony of mature dolyak bellows. The dolyaks themselves were only just behind their calls, and Juxeena turned and stepped off the short ledge before breaking into a loping run again. Behind her, three massive dolyaks stormed into view. Bellowing and roaring. And behind them, a half dozen more followed. And behind them, were yet another handful of adult dolyaks. _One small herd my pale backside!_

Perhaps if she tossed him off something nice and high, so he would have plenty of time to think about what he had done on the way down. There was a frozen waterfall she knew of not far from where they were now. A nice long fall with a quick and sudden stop at the end. Or perhaps she could go a little easier on him. There was always Wyrmblood Lake on the way home. That would provide a nice long fall, but allow for him to freeze in the waters before his ultimate demise. Yes that sounded most entertaining.

Another ledge almost caused her to lose her balance as she bounded over it. The rocks were getting smaller, but more numerous down near the valley floor. The dolyak calf continued bleating and crying out as it was jostled. Juxeena spared a glance over her shoulder as she rounded a large boulder in her path. The dolyak herd was closing. Not quickly, but she figured she had only a few more minutes of jogging in her. The calf on her back was not helping things either. It did not squirm and strain like it had initially, but the weight was making it difficult to keep a steady pace. She noted the slight sloping of the ground was beginning to level out as she ran. With the mountain looming directly before her, Juxeena knew her destination was close. So long as the cave entrance was where Chadok had said it was. Leaning forward, Juxeena put everything she had into this last stretch. Maybe, instead of Wyrmblood Lake, she could truss Elovar up and then roll him down the roof of the Great Lodge. Yes, that could definitely work. Smiling to herself, she ran on.

As Rachit had feared, the level of smoke in his passage was beginning to build. He had paused earlier in his descent when he had first detected the presence of smoke, and wet down a rag that was now tied around his face, covering his nose and mouth. Now, though the amount of smoke was increasing, Rachit loosed a soft and muffled sigh from behind his makeshift mask. Just below him, perhaps no more than a few feet, he had finally spotted the soft glow of a light. It wasn't much, just an indistinct glow somewhere below, but it was enough. Having spent so long in the utter dark of the tunnel had let his sensitive eyes adjust enough that even the faintest of lights would have been visible. He proceeded downwards carefully until finally he extended a foot and could find no wall for purchase. Pulling the foot back, Rachit immediately set to pulling off the rope about his chest.

Once he had one of the free ends in hand, he pulled a thin metal bar from a loop at his belt. During his descent, the bar had been kept aligned up and down, allowing him to descend fairly easily. Now he turned the bar sideways, turning it about in the dark until he found an orientation that the bar could catch on. After wedging the bar as well as he could in the cramped condition, he quickly tied loose end of the rope into the securest knot he could think of around the bars middle. And though it was still too dark to see by, he was confident that even in the dark, any knot he tied would hold. Well, fairly confident. Mostly.

The knot tied and tightened to his satisfaction, Rachit lifted the rest of the rope off his shoulders, and then let it fall away into the darkness beneath him. A few more cramped maneuvers, and he had attached a small device to provide grip and tension between his belt and the rope. He had cobbled it together last night to provide additional grip should he need to suddenly have one, or more drastically, both hands free. With a final thought of reassurance for himself, Rachit began to slowly descend the rope. The tight fit of the fissure he had climbed down had prohibited him from bringing as much rope as he had wanted, but he had a good thirty to forty feet. The small tension device at his waist hummed softly as it slid down the rope with him.

After a few tense moments of letting himself down the rope Rachit came to a sudden stop. His hand had been sliding down the rope first, and had just hit a knot he had tied in the other end of the rope. He was only a foot away from the literal end of his rope, but as far as he could tell, he was still quite high up from the cavern floor. The area was still mostly dark, but with the number of cooking fires slowly increasing, and now that he was closer to them, Rachit could just make out a few features. The floor wasn't perfectly flat, and in places there were ledges that easily rose ten feet or more, causing some fires appear to be floating above others. There was even one just being lit beneath him. Looking down, Rachit was able to make out a few Grawl moving about the slowly building fire. None had looked up, yet, and Rachit could only hope none of them would have cause too. Dangling from the rope as he was, he would be an easy target. Even for a Grawl. Rachit began looking around more urgently, trying to locate something familiar from his observations the previous day. But he could find none. Neither the cliff he and Vayla had spied from, nor the orb and its altar.

After a few moments of not finding anything he recognized, Rachit looked back down and saw the fire below him now swinging about in a slow circle around him. It only took a second for Rachit to notice the slight breeze of air on his face, and to realize that his frantic looking about had imparted a lazy swing in his rope. By itself, the slight motion was nothing to worry about, but Rachit found his mind trying to recall whether or not the opening of the vent he had come down had any sharp edges. Grimacing under his mask, Rachit quickly locked his tension device off, and opened the small case on his chest.

Nestled in their padding were seven small, clear liquid filled spheres. Each one capped in metal on top and bottom, and holding a dimly glowing crystal suspended at their center. Rachit carefully removed the first sphere, making sure to keep his hand tightly wrapped around the glowing portion so as to not give away his presence. Looking down again, he saw that his swing had lessened, but not stopped. And this slow motion threw his mind into a sudden tizzy of thought. Hanging from the rope as he was made him a vulnerable target. And if he just started dropping or throwing his charges, the Grawl might manage to figure out where they were coming from. But what if he was swinging back and forth? More than he was already. Rachit grinned to himself. Not only would he be a moving target, but the motion would allow him to toss his charges further afield, increasing the difficulty for any Grawl trying to locate the source of his distraction. Just as he was readying himself to start a gentle swaying, the calm quiet of the cavern was shattered by three quick blasts on a horn, the last of which seemed to cut off short. All around and below him, Rachit could hear Grawl voices raising and the sounds of hurried movements. Rachit cursed softly. Everything was supposed to have kicked off with Chadok detonating some of his custom flash-bangs, which would be once everyone was in place. Obviously, something had gone wrong. Growling under his breath regarding incompetent companions, Rachit leaned as hard as he could into getting the rope to swing.

Elovar had benefited greatly from the element of surprise. He had managed to sprint across the open space in front of the cave, and take down the first Grawl guard before any of them realized what was happening. Of course, the original plan had been for him to draw some of them out away from the entrance so that he and Vayla could confront them together. Chadok would have snuck inside during the fight, and then the dolyaks would provide him and Vayla a chance to withdraw. That had also been before the number of Grawl at the entrance had tripled. Now, he was the center of attention for two dozen angry Grawl, and no longer certain as to what came next. He danced back as a large club swung past where his head had just been, at the same time bringing one of his blades up to block another strike. _What was I thinking? No. Just stay cool._ Swinging one of his swords with a grandiose flourish over his head, Elovar lunged forward and stabbed out with the other, catching a Grawl who had been watching the other swinging blade between the ribs. The Grawl crumpled with a grunt, and Elovar dropped to one knee and rolled away as several swings came at him. As he came up to his feet he dove to one side as an arrow zipped past, and for a moment all the Grawl present paused, as a mirror image of Elovar dove in the opposite direction. The pause ended as quickly as it had come, and the Grawl threw themselves at both of the men now before them. Both of the men stepped lightly, swords swinging through the air to block strikes and turn them aside. Both of them tried to press any advantage they could, but only one was able strike home and drop another Grawl opponent.

Suddenly, one of the Elovar's was tripped to the ground. Three Grawl swarmed their prone foe, and while two held the man down, the third smashed his club down on the man's head. As the club connected, the man burst in a flash of light and shimmering colors. All three of the Grawl were sent staggering backwards clawing at their eyes. The other Elovar, the real Elovar, grinned as he blocked yet another blow and delivered a swift kick to his attacker's midsection. Spinning away from the next Grawl, Elovar ended his twirl standing next to another mirror image of himself. Both Elovars grinned, and then stepped off in opposite directions, splitting their attackers focus once more. Suddenly a deep bellowing roar echoed through the valley, and the Grawl not engaged with the two Elovars turned, just in time to see an armored Charr wielding a massive war hammer smash into and through their group.

Elovar took the moment of reprieve to dash into the open space that Vayla had created with her entrance, the mirror image joining him. He spun in place back to back with his double, in a quick full circle, taking in the Grawl as they repositioned and regrouped. Vayla was busy swinging her weapon with seemingly reckless abandon, while the Grawl facing her stayed as far back as they could manage. They hooted and hollered, swinging their clubs impotently, and beating their chests. Vayla paid them no mind. Both the Elovar's nodded as one, then launched themselves towards the Grawl that were closing on them. As they did, a third Elovar remained. He turned in place and caught one Grawl across the face, and another through the arm as they tried to move in to flank the other two Elovars. The Grawl were beginning to show signs of wearing, as despite their best efforts their enemy seemed to be replicating without end. The Grawl directly facing the Elovars became more guarded, striking out less and over reacting to the attacks the Elovars made. Suddenly, and as one, the three Elovars dashed off in different directions, swinging their swords as they went. One of them turned aside to head for Vayla, leaving yet another Elovar in his wake, who stopped to intercept a Grawl hunter who had tried to trip the first. The original Elovar sidestepped a Grawl sent flying by one of Vayla's swings, and deftly sliced a Grawl that was making ready to swing at Vayla's exposed side. The Charr nodded at Elovar curtly as he took up position behind Vayla, standing back to back with her as best he could manage.

"So what's your situation Vayla?"

The Charr scoffed over her shoulder at him, as she swung her hammer guardedly at a Grawl that was coming too close. "I have this side under control. For the moment."

Elovar nodded quickly, though his face began to look concerned. The previous chaos of the melee had calmed, and the Grawl were beginning to regroup. He could tell that it would only be moments before they decided to rush again. With the surprise ferocity of their initial assault fading, he and Vayla would be in bad shape if the Grawl all came at once. A series of shouts from the cave drew his attention, and as he turned to see, Elovar's jaw fell open. Dozens of Grawl were bounding out towards them. They were armed with an assortment of crude weapons, carved wooden clubs and half rusted swords, along with poorly built shields and bows. Elovar could only watch as they poured out of the cave, their numbers stretching back into the darkness. He pulled his mirror images back closer to him and took on a grim demeanor.  
"How about now? Any ideas?"

Vayla barked a laugh, and caught a Grawl aside its head with her hammer as it tried to push for an advantage. "Once you kick up a devourer's nest, the only thing you can do is smash them all. Or else let them flay you to the bone." She hefted her hammer and then swung it into the ground with a mighty crack. Many of the nearby Grawl stepped back, looking uncertain of moving in before their fellows arrived. Vayla turned to the Grawl pouring from the cave as they closed on their position. "Come, you filthy scavengers! Come if you dare! I shall make you fight for every piece of me!"

Elovar grimaced at the back of Vayla's head, but he could not fault her. He had really stepped in it this time. Elovar and his mirror images lined up on either side of Vayla, swinging and flourishing their swords as imposing as possible. Elovar had no intention of these being his last moments, but if they were, then they were going to be like the rest of his life. Filled with style. The Grawl reinforcements were almost on them, and the Grawl already around them were getting braver by the moment, when suddenly one of them raised his arm and pointed back up the valley with a shout. Elovar wasn't about to turn to look, but didn't have long to think on it. A grey blur barreled through the Grawl surrounding he and Vayla, and only when it turned about for another charge did Elovar recognize it as an arctodus. Though he could not be certain, Elovar was convinced that it was Juxeena's arctodus Rhy'l. _But if he's here._Elovar started to turn then, but before he could another blur went by, making use of the hole that Rhy'l had made in the Grawl line.

"Juxeena, wait!"

Juxeena didn't seem to pay Elovar's yelling any mind, even if she was able to hear it above the din of noise the Grawl were making combined with the bleating of her catch. Elovar and Vayla suddenly leapt forward into the Grawl as Rhy'l came crashing in from the other side, trampling and biting and tearing. The small group of Grawl broke quickly, and it gave Elovar the opportunity to see Juxeena heading straight for the other group of Grawl and the cave entrance. All the reinforcements surged towards her and then suddenly staggered to a stop, jaws agape and eyes wide. One of them pointed in Elovar's direction just as Juxeena reached the front line and vaulted clear over it, though she did trample one or two Grawl on landing. None of the Grawl moved to stop her. Instead, they turned almost as one and began fleeing back to the caves. Vayla was next to him, panting slightly, having just finished off the last of their Grawl, but as she turned to him her eyes widened as well. Elovar heard it then. A rumbling like an avalanche, and then a bellow. Elovar spun and stared at the sight of thirty large, angry, and charging dolyak filling the valley.

A massive hand snagged the collar of his ratty coat and yanked him clear off his feet and back into the moment. Vayla, already at a jog, set him loose in front her as his feet touched ground again. Elovar began running as hard as he could, swords still in hand, but the rumbling sounds behind him were only growing louder. Before him, the Grawl had all but forgotten about intruders as they stumbled and pushed in an effort to get back into the cave. Elovar and Vayla even began passing a few of them as the straggling Grawl decided to take their chances with the steep valley walls. Just ahead Elovar caught a last sight of Juxeena as she passed into the gloom of the cave's entrance. Elovar leaned forward and pumped his legs with everything he had left. Strangely, the thought that Vayla was still behind him as he ran; flitted through his mind. He had seen first hand on several occasions that Charr at a full lope could easily outpace any human. It could only mean that she was keeping pace with him. That thought made him hope for more strength, but his thighs and calves were already burning. The shadow of the cave was over them now, and the line of darkness that was the cave interior was near. But the dolyak seemed closer, though he dared not turn to look. He could hear them clearly though. Aside from their echoing bellows and thundering hooves, he could hear their labored huffing and panting. He could hear the sounds of small debris skittering out across the valley floor from the force of their charge. He was even able to distinguish the soft swishing of their long fur coats as they swung in time with their running. Elovar laughed softly to himself. He found it funny that in what could very well be his last moments, he had time to notice the sound of dolyak fur.

Elovar was jerked back into the moment as once again he found himself being lifted off the ground, his swords snapping out of his hands from the sudden motion. This time he had been hit from behind and scooped up, and found himself slung over Vayla's shoulder. She was moving at her best speed now and Elovar began to feel slightly dizzy as his field of view bobbed and swayed as Vayla loped quickly along. It was nothing though, compared to what he felt next. Vayla turned hard to her right and sped at the nearby cave wall. Once there, she leapt up and clawed her way up a few paces until she found footing secure enough to stand on. So there she stood, claws hugging the wall with Elovar over her shoulder, as the last of the dolyak ran past underneath them. Elovar started making strange groaning sounds behind her, and Vayla let go with one hand to pull the man down her front, placing him between her and the wall. His skin seemed suddenly very pale, at least compared to what it had been just a minute earlier.

"Are you alright? Are you injured?"

Elovar started to shake his head, but stopped suddenly, a hand pressed to his stomach.

"I'm fine. Or will be. Thanks for the save though."

Vayla nodded curtly. Elovar's voice was strained and weak sounding, but his color was already starting to return. Vayla looked down and saw that the last of the stampede had passed, though the noise and ruckus of the beasts was echoing out from the cavern ahead. A few paces back up the tunnel lay both her hammer and Elovar's swords. They seemed fine where they had fallen, but Vayla was ready to get back into the fight. She turned back to Elovar and wrapped her loose arm around his middle.

"Hang on."

Elovar had no time to even think of protesting before Vayla pushed off the wall. The ground rushed up quickly in Elovar's eyes, and he wanted to shout out, despite the little good it would serve. Vayla hit the ground and dropped into a kneeling position, at the same time she unfurled her arm about Elovar's waist. Dizzied and shocked Elovar went rolling off to side, finally coming to a stop with his face down in the dirt, panting softly. Vayla stepped over and laid a paw on Elovar's shoulder. He did not jump or shudder at the touch, or seem to react at all. After a brief moment his panting began to slow and he raised one of his arms, only the thumb extended.

"I'm fine. Just gimme a moment."

Vayla nodded to herself, and left Elovar where he lay as she went to retrieve their weapons. She grabbed Elovar's blades first, placing them both in one hand. With her other hand she easily lifted the massive hammer. Jogging back to Elovar, who had managed to push himself up onto one knee, she held the hilts of his swords out towards him. Elovar nodded his thanks as he took the weapons gingerly. Once Vayla had taken a step back, Elovar pushed himself to his feet. As he rose, he spun the blades with a quick flourish, finishing by sliding them into the sheathes on his back. Vayla clapped him on the shoulder hard enough to cause the man to stagger slightly.

"Come on, fancy man. Let's get back to work."

Elovar rolled his eyes, but nodded his head in agreement. Vayla hefted her hammer and dashed towards the cavern with Elovar right behind her.

Rachit pulled out another of the BangBalls, a name he had only just concocted, and hit it hard against his thigh as he was in the upswing of his latest pass over the Grawl camp below. The confusion below was in full swing, with Grawl running back and forth seemingly without order. They had managed to get a number of large fires and braziers lit, which was making Rachit's job of picking targets much easier. Having already hurled four of his explosives, he had gotten rather good with the timing of the things. As he slowed and then started swinging back, Rachit leaned back to aid the swing. In his hand, the orb began to glow a faint orange as the etheric capacitor at its center overheated. As he approached the next peak Rachit flung the sphere as hard as he could. He watched the now bright ball arc away through the darkness. Just before it hit the ground, the bright light shifted in color from light orange to a dark blue. The Grawl in the immediate area of the explosion were knocked back, and most of the nearby combustible materials were smoking if not smoldering.

A whizzing object shot past Rachit's head, just inches from an ear. Looking down Rachit spotted three Grawl with bows, and all of them pointed at him. As another arrow was loosed Rachit pulled on his rope and quickly lifted his feet, which was just enough to let the arrow pass. Two other arrows blurred by that Rachit was unable to anything about, and he was left to hope that they kept on missing. Suddenly the three raced off, just as a dolyak charged across Rachit's field of view and then disappeared around a corner. That had been the fifth such creature Rachit had noted from his current position, but he hadn't seen or heard from any of his companions so he could only assume that their portion of the plan had been executed somewhat according to design. If somewhat early. Regardless of the preemptive nature of their arrival, the dolyak had fulfilled their role quite spectacularly. Since he hadn't seen more than one or two at a time, he could only assume that the herd had scattered somehow inside the cavern, driving the Grawl in every direction before them.

As he continued swinging Rachit reached into the case on his chest. He had to fish around blindly for a moment before he finally withdrew what he realized was the last of his BangBalls. Once he used it, he would have to start figuring what to do next. Something that he had been glad to blissfully ignore while dealing with the first stage of his plan. Giving the ball a solid smack against his thigh, Rachit gave the orb a good shake as he searched for a final target. A number of Grawl beginning to gather and regroup provided him with just what he was looking for. With a small wind up, Rachit pitched the orb straight at the group some sixty feet away. Just as he did, one of the Grawl chanced to look up with slack jaw and wide eyes. Rachit's ears drooped as he watched the Grawl raise a bow and loose an arrow in an almost impossibly fluid motion. But the arrow was not aimed for him. The arrow shot up and struck the BangBall dead center, carrying the explosive back into the air. Rachit curled into a ball as best he could, watching as the leaking ball shot higher. Suddenly the sphere color shifted to blue, and then exploded. The burning liquid sprayed in every direction, but most of it arced over Rachit's head, for which he was very grateful.

Rachit was quick to notice however, that the explosion had apparently backlit him to the ground below, as almost all the Grawl within bow shot were now either pointing to him, or already shooting at him. Seeing that his current position was no longer tenable, Rachit made the choice to start climbing back up. He made sure to impart a last good swing to make himself a difficult target, then made to start pulling himself up the rope. The moment he looked up though, he froze. The spray of liquid from the BangBall had apparently passed over his rope some fifteen feet above where he dangled. Almost four feet of the rope was now aflame. And the fire was spreading. Climbing back up the rope was suddenly no longer an option.

"Oh dear."

Juxeena ducked deeper into the alcove she had taken cover in as a dolyak charged by, pursued closely by a bounding gaggle of Grawl. She had tossed the unfortunate dolyak calf into a large group of Grawl she had encountered just after entering the cavern. It had bought her the moment she had needed to escape their notice, although the pursuing herd of angry dolyaks had helped as well. In the few minutes since then, she had been ducking from hiding spot to hiding spot, trying to make it back to the cavern's entrance. Her bow and quiver were stashed at her back, as the darkness and sometimes tight quarters and short lines of sight made such a weapon impractical. Instead she had brought out her longsword, with a dagger in her off-hand. The weapons were a matched set, having similar patterns on the hilts and guards, and both being made of good Norn steel.

Juxeena grumbled to herself as she slipped along a wall before stopping behind an oversized stalagmite. Elovar and the Charr were supposed to have already been inside by the time she arrived. The presence of all those Grawl out front had told her everything she had needed to know though. The plan had been shot from the get go. Just then a loud crack echoed about the cavern, and Juxeena ducked down reflexively. There had been a faint flash of light just as the sound had come, and Juxeena assumed that it was their Asura friend doing what he said he would do. There had been a few of the loud cracks since she had entered the cavern, but she could not figure exactly which direction the noise and light was coming from.

A roar from around a corner ahead caused Juxeena to drop low behind her cover. Three Grawl came from around the corner, running quickly. One of them stopped to turn and raise his bow. It was a fatal mistake. Before he finished nocking an arrow, a massive arctodus rammed him and knocked him to the ground. With a few swipes and a final crushing bite, the beast put an end to the unfortunate Grawl. Once the other two had fled even faster than they had come, Juxeena risked raising her voice.

"Rhy'l?"

Rhy'l turned its head to face Juxeena at the sound of her voice. Once it spotted her it came trotting over, tongue lolling out and an almost pleased look on its face. Like a puppy that had just found its master. A look that seemed somewhat incongruent with the already drying blood around its mouth. Juxeena reached out and scratched Rhy'l behind its ears.

"Rhy'l you lunkhead. What are you doing here? You were supposed to be keeping E-lo out of trouble."

Rhy'l turned his head to look the other way, and Juxeena looked up as well. As she did, Elovar came around the same corner that Rhy'l had just rounded in pursuit of the Grawl. He looked much rougher than when they had parted that morning. His coat was hanging open and his hat was gone. Worse, he bore a number of scratches and scrapes, including a nasty cut above his left eye that was bleeding steadily down the side of his face. Despite all that, the swords in his hands seemed as steady as ever, and he seemed ready to use them further. His face lightened as he spotted Rhy'l with Juxeena, and he jogged tiredly over.

"I was hoping Rhy'l would lead me to you. Been on a hell of a tear every since we came in after you."

Juxeena rose and reached out to turn Elovar's head to one side to get a better look at his injury.

"You're hurt."

Elovar sheathed one of his swords and reached up to touch above his eye, flinching as he did. Pulling the fingers away, he didn't seem surprised to see them liberally bloodied. "I'll be fine. I've had far worse believe me."

Juxeena reached into a pouch on her belt, drawing out a small bundle of cloths and a tiny jar. As she unstopped the jar revealing a greenish-yellow paste inside, Elovar recoiled a step, his hand coming up to cover his face.

"By the Gods Jux, what the hell is that stuff? It smells like week old offal from a summer meat market."

Juxeena gave Elovar a sidelong look as she dipped a small portion of a square of cloth into the jar. Closing the jar up and stashing it back in her pouch, she proceeded to rub the paste into a small area of the cloth until it was smooth and even. She then moved to place the small cloth on Elovar's head, but he jerked away almost instinctively.

"You're hurt. Sit still. This will help."

"No way. I'm not letting you put that junk anywhere near me. Now tell me what it is."

Juxeena rolled her eyes at her friends reluctance. "It's a sort of salve. It'll keep that nasty cut on your head from getting infected. Not to mention it'll help to stop you from bleeding like a stuck boar. Now hold still." Juxeena grabbed the back of Elovar's head with her free hand, and mashed the cloth into place over his wound. Elovar winced terribly but managed to keep himself from crying out loud. Juxeena watched as the cloth began to grow crimson from the wound, but even as she watched the soaking slowed, and the trickle of blood from underneath stopped completely. Elovar reached up as if to touch the cloth, but Juxeena swatted his hand away.

"By Grenth that stings like a swarm of bees Jux. What in the world is it made from?"

Juxeena proceeded to wrap the small cloth with a cut bandage to keep it in place. "Normal sort of stuff. A little salt. A little honey. Bit of troll."

Elovar went suddenly still, except for his eyes, which rose slowly to glare up at Juxeena as she finished wrapping the bandage about his head. "Troll? You're putting essence of _troll_ on me? Ugh! Gack! Probably made it from its backside from the smell of things."

Juxeena finished stashing the remaining bandages in her pouch. "Oh don't be such a baby. Not that it matters, but it was made from his insides. Now what happened to the Charr lady? I saw her with you when I passed you outside."

Elovar raised a hand again as if to touch his now bandaged wound with a cringe. Juxeena slapped his hand away once more. Elovar glared at her, but it lacked any heat of anger or resentment. He drew his other blade once more as he came to stand up straight.

"We got separated. One of the dolyak doubled back when a group of Grawl got it separated from the herd. That's where I got the nasty cut, when the big cow knocked me aside. When I made it to my feet, most the Grawl had kept on after the dolyak, but a few marked me out as an easy target. Rhy'l managed to come barreling in and bought me the time to get my senses about me. I haven't seen Vayla since. What do you want to do?"

Juxeena drew her own blades as she stepped out into the main path. The place was now a soft din of noise. Dolyak bellows, Grawl horn calls, and the occasional sharp pop as something cracked and exploded in the distance. Looking up and down the path, Juxeena quickly decided.

"We assume that this whole thing has gone teats up, and make a dash for the finish. We run headlong for where that altar thing is supposed to be, grab the orb, and get out."

Elovar came to stand next to her, a look of concern growing on his face. "What about the others?"

Juxeena gave a slow shake of her head with a grimace. "If they're as good as they said, then it shouldn't be a problem. If they aren't, then they knew the risks when they took the job. Now let's move."

Juxeena quietly moved off at a slow jog deeper into the gloomy cavern, Rhy'l following close at heel just as silently. Elovar began following as well, though more slowly and reluctantly. He looked around, trying to watch every direction at once. He didn't know in which direction any of the others might have been, but some reason following after Juxeena gave him the distinct impression of leaving them behind. With a last glance back the way he had originally come, Elovar finally trotted off after Juxeena in earnest.

Rachit was almost frantic in his attempt to get his rope swinging. Asides from the burning portion of the rope which was still slowly expanding, the light of the fire had completely given away his presence. Arrows were whizzing by almost non-stop now. Most were very far off, as the Grawl below seemed to be aiming at the fire itself, but too many were flying very close. As evidence of this the now empty leather case on Rachit's chest that had held his explosives, now held an arrow that had penetrated from the side far enough that the arrow head had emerged from the opposite end. The erratic attempts to evade incoming fire all while trying to swing as quickly as possible had resulted in a circular swing. Rachit was rather grateful for this turn of event, since the new swing path made him an even harder target, which allowed him to turn his attention to his fire problem.

A glance upward though revealed that his fire problem had graduated into a full blown emergency. The wild swinging about he had done to avoid being made into a dangling pincushion had had little affect on the flames, asides perhaps from fanning them further. Rachit began looking down into the darkness below, looking for something or somewhere that would increase his chances of surviving a fall. The numerous fires that the Grawl had started was making it more difficult to see into the still dark portions of the cave, but Rachit was able to pick out one ledge that seemed close enough to leap to, and high enough to survive the fall to. As Rachit swung away from his chosen ledge, he kept his eyes on its location, though the distance and gloom made it almost impossible to keep it in actual sight. While he kept his gaze locked on the spot he slowly counted, timing the length of his backswing, and made ready to release the tension device at his waist.

As Rachit began swinging back, he leaned into the motion as best he could, eyes still aimed at where he intended to release. As the moment grew closer, Rachit heard a snap as the rope suddenly sagged and sent him bobbing about like a fish on a hook. Rachit spared a quick glance up and almost wished he had not. A portion of the wound rope was now trailing like a streamer in the breeze. Regaining control of his swing as best he could, Rachit quickly adjusted his count in his head as he searched for the dark point he had been aiming for. He felt his swing beginning to slow and knew that he didn't have much choice. Picking a spot below, Rachit reached down for the tension device. Before he could release it, the burning rope chose for him. With a disturbingly subtle double pop, the rope above snapped, and sent Rachit plummeting into the dark below. As he fell Rachit flailed out with his arms, hoping to find some sort of hand hold to latch onto. With a flash of motion, he saw the ledge he had been aiming for pass by, just a claw's length out of reach. His mind reeled in panic. Random thoughts and equations shuddered through his head. Most of which had to do with his velocity and angle of descent, and how when he hit the ground, how that much force was going to really hurt before he actually died.

His mind and body were both brought to a jerking halt, as his descent suddenly stopped. Unfortunately his motion didn't completely stop, as Rachit quickly found himself slamming sideways into a cliff face. The sudden impact lit up Rachit's vision with false stars momentarily, but a shake of the head later and his vision started clearing. Suddenly he started moving again, causing him to grab wildly for the rock face. But then the movement stopped. But then it came again. It took Rachit a few moments to realize what was happening, a fact he would later attribute to temporary cranial injury from the sudden stop. But with every jerking motion, he was slowly moving upwards. In a moment of clarity, Rachit managed to right himself against the cliff, and began hauling himself up the rope to further expedite his ascent. A few moments later, and Rachit's hands found the top of a ledge. Before he could pull himself up though, something massive seized his coat and hauled him into the air. The trip was short, as Rachit quickly found his feet planted on solid ground. Before him a familiar shadow loomed over.

"Vayla? By my ears! Your sense of timing is impeccable!"

Vayla unhitched the tiny parcel from the back of her belt, and knelt down holding the bundle towards Rachit.

"I have found that good timing is something of a requirement, for those that wish to associate with you."

Rachit took the offering from Vayla, and smiled crookedly as he quickly unwrapped the contents. With the last tie string off, the small bundle practically burst open, spilling its contents at Rachit's feet. Rachit immediately set to picking out various pieces and strapping them on, most of it having been too bulky to squeeze down the vent with him. A belt with numerous loops and holsters was quickly filled with an assortment of large tools. A bandolier across his chest held several small cylinders, each one bearing a single small symbol on their sides, though not all the symbols were the same. A set of goggles went over his head, and with the flick of a switch began to glow softly around the lenses. Finally, Rachit lifted a small but bulky looking rifle. The rifle's half-inch barrel was strapped to a frame of wood with metal banding, with a wider but shorter tube slung underneath. The frame narrowed to standard stock, though this had what appeared to be a leather bound cushion at its end. Rachit quickly and deftly loaded the rifle's chamber from a pouch at his belt, as well as sliding one of the cylinders from his chest into the under slung portion. As he cocked the last latch into place, he looked up at Vayla with a grin.

"Ready?"

Vayla nodded, and Rachit took a moment to get his bearings before darting off. Vayla loped behind, hefting her large hammer clumsily in her off-hand. As Rachit scouted ahead, occasionally stopping to wave at her to signal the way as clear, Vayla stole glances at her right hand as she passed near Grawl lit fires. The fur of her palm was mostly singed away, and a thin line across the width of her hand was badly seared. The edges around the burn had turned a dark red, while the burn itself was sickly bright pink in color and tacky to her touch. Sliding her hammer into its holster on her back with some difficulty, Vayla tore a strip of cloth from her sleeve, and wrapped it around the burn as they moved. She made certain to only do so while Rachit was not looking at her. She needed his mind on the matter at hand, not worrying about an injury that she could deal with. The wrapping done, Vayla winced softly as she flexed the injured hand. Up ahead, Rachit had stopped and turned back again, an inquisitive look on his face. Vayla just waved him onward.

"Keep moving. The sooner we finish this, the better."

Elovar and Juxeena slid to a stop behind a pillar of rock as a clatter of Grawl arrows glanced harmlessly away against the opposite side. Rhy'l hunched down next to Juxeena, seemingly aware of the need to make itself a smaller target. Juxeena grumbled aloud as she tried peeking around the corner, only to be stopped by another volley of poorly aimed projectiles.

"You know. I am really getting tired of all these Grawl. I mean, I found them to be annoying pests before. But now? I really, really never want to see another Grawl, ever again."

Elovar grinned up at Juxeena as he came to stand next to her, giving her arm a soft pat.

"Hang on just a little bit more." Elovar crouched suddenly, and pulled out the wand tucked behind his belt. "Now. Let's see how they like this."

With a twirl and a wave, Elovar pointed his wand towards a nearby outcropping of rock. An instant later a mirror image of himself appeared atop the formation, but unlike some of his earlier manifestations, this one was translucent. Almost immediately the Grawl around the corner turned their arrows on the illusion. In response, the illusion bobbed and weaved as if dodging the missiles. Occasionally, the illusory Elovar would flick its wand towards the Grawl and send forth a glowing bolt of energy. The Grawl likewise dodged the projectile attacks, though only those that moved too slow realized that the bolts were impacting harmlessly. Elovar used the brief reprieve from Grawl attentions to poke his head around the corner and observe their positions.

He was elated immediately to see the orb only a few paces behind the line of Grawl, which he made out to be less than a dozen. Suddenly the arrows began falling in his direction again, and Elovar found himself being hauled back around the corner. Juxeena pulled him upright, then nodded to where his illusion had been.

"Your distraction just ran out. What now?"

Elovar started to speak, but stopped as he saw a shadow of motion from the corner of his eyes. Flattening himself against the rock Elovar readied the wand in his hand, while Juxeena drew her blades. They both relaxed when they saw Rachit and Vayla slide to a stop behind the cover of a crude wagon that had turned on its side. Elovar gave a wave towards the two of them and called over.

"Hey there. Imagine us meeting in a place like this. How you two managing?"

Rachit returned the wave and called back.

"I am compelled to admit that this experience has been entirely exhilarating. But quite frankly, I am beginning to long for a warm meal, a soft bed, and a nice set of structural diagrams for an entertaining read."

Elovar smiled back, but grunted suddenly when Juxeena jabbed him in the back.

"So glad you two are enjoying yourselves. Now does anyone have any ideas how we can move up without being pin cushioned?"

Elovar grimaced slightly at the new pain in his back, but Juxeena had a point. Even if he could throw up another illusion or two, there was nothing stopping the Grawl from dividing their attention. Looking back across the way, Elovar saw Rachit trying to sneak a peek at the Grawl position through the rough slats of the bed of the overturned wagon. Perhaps with Rachit's and Vayla's help, a quick charge could work. There was good chance someone was going to catch an arrow, but judging by how his head injury was now just a dull ache, Juxeena's troll gunk should keep it from being lethal. Elovar nodded to himself. He spoke up loud enough, to make sure that everyone could hear.

"Alright. We're going to make a run on them. I'll do what I do. Rachit, cover from here. Vayla, Jux, close hard and fast. I'll have your backs. Ready?"

Vayla hefted her hammer across the way with a solemn nod. Rachit looked uncertain, but he gave his rifle a pat and then shot Elovar a thumbs up. Juxeena laid a hand Elovar's shoulder, then readied herself for a run. Elovar held up his hand with three fingers extended. He curled the first, and Vayla also made ready to run. The second finger down, and Rachit chambered his rifle and breathed deep. Elovar readied his wand and lowered his last finger. Everyone moved out at once, and chaos suddenly erupted from Grawl's line. Three bursts of smoke turned into a single black cloud that enveloped the entire altar area. One or two arrows did fly out towards Juxeena and Vayla, but were wildly off target. From within the cloud the Grawl were shouting and screaming, and from the sound of occasional cries of pain, dying. By the time Juxeena reached the cloud the sounds within had ceased altogether. And despite the fact that the cloud was already beginning to dissipate, she seemed hesitant to enter. Vayla came strolling up calmly a moment later, already stowing her weapon. Juxeena glared at her in disbelief.

"You seem awfully confident."

Vayla just shook her head slightly as she cradled her cloth wrapped right hand.

"Not confidence. Just knowledge."

The last of the cloud began to evaporate and dissipate, revealing a single large moving form. Chadok was cleaning the jagged blades of his daggers off using a dirty rag which he tossed aside once finished. Sheathing his weapons, he tucked his thumbs into his belt.

"Are you all just gonna stand there? Or can we leave now?"

Rachit hustled past Juxeena and Vayla and started pulling himself up the side of the crude altar. Once at the top, he took a moment to examine the orb as he steadied himself on the flimsy stick structure. The orb was indeed large, compared to his small frame at any rate, being well over a foot in diameter. It was perfectly smooth and round, and fairly translucent with a dusty rose tint. This close Rachit also noted that the shimmering he had observed from afar had most likely been caused by the numerous fractures that ran all throughout the orb. Juxeena had some to stand before the altar, her hands on her hips.

"Well?"

Rachit gave her a thumbs up. "It would appear to be in satisfactory condition for transport. Coming down." Rachit lifted the orb carefully before dropping it gently off the side.

Juxeena raised her hands and caught it easily. Elovar was at her side in a moment with a large velvet bag, and Juxeena carefully tucked the orb inside before taking the bag from Elovar to carry. Back atop the altar, Rachit raised a hand and pointed into the distance. Just in sight, was a mass of Grawl, all headed in the direction of the altar. Apparently their diversions had worn off, and the Grawl were beginning to realize what was going on.

"We appear to have company approaching our position. I suggest we vacate these premises with all due haste."

Vayla stepped up to the altar now, and raised her left arm into the air. Rachit nodded, taking the hint, and stepped off. He caught her arm with both hands, and Vayla slowed him easily so that he hit the ground no harder than as if he were walking down stairs. Chadok scoffed from were he had slid into the shadows.

"Are you finished? Now follow me."

Chadok slunk away quickly, making almost no sound at all. Juxeena raised a fist with a grimace towards the Charr's back, but let it fall back down after a moment. Elovar gave her a shrug and a smile as he stared off, and she followed as well with Rhy'l in tow. Vayla drew out her hammer again and looked to Rachit. Rachit hefted his rifle with a grin, and was about to step off when something caught his eye. A scrap of cloth caught between two rocks at the base of the altar. He couldn't make out the colors or the symbol that appeared to be on the torn fabric, but something in his mind wouldn't let go.

"Rachit. What's wrong? We must go. Now."

Rachit reached down and tore the cloth free and stuffed it into a pocket. With that he scampered off after the others, and Vayla came behind bringing up the rear.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Walk Back

**Chapter 4**

**Back to Benefactors**

**28**

The withdrawal from the Grawl cavern went much more smoothly than Rachit had planned. A fact that he reluctantly noted was due to Chadok's own initiative, but not a point of interest that he would bring up anytime soon. Apparently while everyone else was busy fighting their way into and throughout the cavern, Chadok had slunk off to find a small side tunnel that he had discovered and used the day before. When the group arrived where Chadok had led them, they found a length of rope hanging from a circular opening that sat fifteen feet up the rock face. Chadok waited for no signal or confirmation that anyone else had arrived safely, and promptly clambered up the rope and out of sight. Juxeena frowned at his disappearing tail, but kept any remarks to herself. Instead, she hoisted Elovar up by his armpits, allowing him to start climbing being already halfway up. She then held a hand out towards Rachit. Rachit glanced over at Vayla, who still had her weapon out and was keeping an eye out for the Grawl that were following them. She turned an eye towards him and nodded. Rachit nodded back and climbed onto Juxeena's massive hand. Juxeena carefully lifted Rachit high, and as soon as he had a grasp on the rope he started scrambling after Elovar. Juxeena began pulling herself up as soon as Rachit was clear. Vayla stepped back and quickly secured her hammer. She began slowly pulling herself up the rope, wincing every time she used her right hand.

Suddenly the sound of angry Grawl shouting burst out from back the way the group had come. Vayla looked over shoulder to see two dozen angry Grawl armed with clubs, blades, and bows rushing towards her. Vayla strained to move more quickly, but her injured hand simply would not move as fast as she wanted. Not to mention the searing pain pulsing all the way up her arm. A sudden jerk on the rope caused Vayla to lose her footing, but her left hand clinched tightly around the rope in hand, keeping her from falling. Vayla looked up to see Juxeena and Chadok hauling on the rope as quickly as they could. Arrows began glancing off the walls, and below, other Grawl were rushing for Vayla. A sharp crack rang out through the cavern, the lead Grawl falling as it did. Back in the tunnel above, Rachit ejected a spent shell from his rifle and then chambered it once more. Elovar knelt down next to him, wand in hand, and began hurling energy bolts in quick succession, catching and dropping two more Grawl. Another popping crack from Rachit's rifle was enough to cause the rest of the Grawl to cease their charge and seek cover. Vayla pulled herself up and over the ledge as the others continued pulling the rope. As she climbed to her feet, Chadok finished coiling the rope before slinging it over a shoulder. He turned and quickly jogged off down the tunnel without a word to anyone. Juxeena moved to follow after him immediately, but Elovar grabbed at her arm.

"Jux, wait. What about Rhy'l?"

Juxeena just smiled back at him. "I sent Rhy'l off on his own. He'll probably get back home before we do. Rhy'l will be fine. It's us you should worry about."

Elovar seemed surprised, but just nodded and followed Juxeena as she left. He had known Juxeena to let Rhy'l go wandering off to hunt, sometimes days at a time, but never in such a hostile situation. He silently wished Rhy'l luck on his way out. Though judging by the mess the animal had made of the Grawl on their way in, Elovar knew Juxeena was right. From behind, Rachit came hurrying past with a small brightly glowing rod, with Vayla slowing to bring up the rear of their line. Rachit slowed once he reached Juxeena, allowing her to keep the lead behind Chadok, while still lighting her way quite effectively.

After a few minutes of passing through the curving tunnel, the group found Chadok waiting for them at a dead end. The tunnel spilled out into a bowl shaped cave, with walls lined with what appeared to be great thick vines reaching all the way to the rocky ceiling. Juxeena spun on Chadok, her face twisted with obvious anger.

"What is this supposed to be? I swear by all the Spirits, if you think you're going to betray us now, you are going to die trying!"

Chadok didn't seem to react to Juxeena's outburst, other than shake of his head and give a soft chuckle. Walking over to a portion of the vine covered wall, Chadok stopped and inspected it closely as he continued to laugh to himself. "You Norn. You're all decent warriors, but that fiery attitude can get you into some seriously tough spots."

Juxeena fumed and lay her hands on the hilts of her weapons. Chadok continued to ignore her, leaving his back exposed. Finally he reached up and grabbed a particular vine and pulled. The vine fell away from the wall easily, as if it had not been attached to wall in the first place. Chadok backed away from the wall, continuing to pull on the vine. As he came to stand next to Juxeena, he looked her in the eye with a wicked grin across his face.

"A word of warning, Norn. That attitude will get you killed one day." With a sudden tug, the vine fell to the floor accompanied by the grinding and crumbling noises of rocks falling away. The ceiling just above where Chadok had been a moment earlier fell in, numerous rocks and roots tumbling to the floor, leaving a single bright shaft of light shining down into the cave. Chadok bared his teeth momentarily before dashing forward to begin climbing the wall, and out into the open air. Juxeena stood and glared as the others moved past her to take their turns climbing out of the cave. She approached slowly as Vayla gingerly lifted herself through the opening in the ceiling. After a moments pause, looking up into the bright blue sky, Juxeena finally hefted herself up the wall.

**29**

The jog back to the campsite was much less cautious than the day before. Chadok kept a steady pace, and despite his rounded middle, always managed to stay just ahead of the group. Juxeena was keeping stride easily with her long legs, the orb in its bag bouncing at her hip in time with the rhythm of her footfalls. Rachit was able to keep up, but Vayla stayed close keeping an eye on him as they hurried. They had broken camp before setting out, and their packs and other gear were right where they had left them hidden in a line of brush. Chadok snatched up a small roll and a small sack that he slung over a shoulder and across his back. He left just as quickly while everyone else was still gathering their things.

"I'll be back shortly. Gotta check our trail."

Juxeena glared at the Charr's receding back as he bounded off back the way they had come. She started slinging her gear on with mostly undue force. Elovar caught her mood and made sure to give her more space, especially as she began swinging her weapons about, stowing the blades and retrieving her bow. Elovar had considered changing his outfit on the way back, but considering the need for urgency, had decided against it. Looking over at Rachit and Vayla, he watched as they donned the largest packs of them all. Rachit's was obviously nowhere close to being as big as the bundle that Vayla was hitching up, but it was relatively close considering his size. One thing was bothering Elovar, though nothing serious. He saw two large rolls on top of Vayla's load which he took to be their tents. And Rachit had TAG strapped to the back of his own bundle. But asides from the two folding tables which formed the frame of Vayla's backpack, Elovar couldn't tell where everything else was packed. He had seen numerous small boxes, stacks of papers, and even a bedroll with a fur blanket while he had been in Rachit's tent. And as far as he could tell, all of Vayla's and Rachit's packs, sacks, pouches and satchels could not even account for Rachit's tent alone. To say nothing of Vayla's gear.

"Rachit. Is that everything that you two brought with you?"

Rachit simply nodded as he finished belting up his gear and began readying his rifle. Elovar went to scratch his head in thought, and was reminded that he was still wearing a bandage wrapped around his head when his fingers touched cloth. With no sharp pains to remind him, he had forgotten that it had been there in the time since Juxeena had wrapped it. Feeling safe to pull it off, Elovar peeled the whole thing off his head as one bundle. Juxeena stepped up as he did, taking the bundle of bandage and unceremoniously pushing his head back as she examined the healed wound. Elovar sighed up at her with a roll of his eyes.

"I'm fine Jux. And would it kill you to just ask?"

Juxeena only grunted back, but she had a slight smirk as she did. Once she was convinced that his injury had rightly healed, she wandered off back to her gear to tend to the bandages. Elovar shook his head as he lifted and shouldered his pack. Looking back over at Rachit reminded him of his earlier question, and brought his previous train of thought back to the forefront of his mind.

"Rachit. If that is all of your stuff, how in the world did you get it all crammed into those packs and bags?"

Rachit grinned broadly. "That, my astute associate, is due to some tried and true Asura Folding techniques."

Elovar stared blankly, trying to puzzle out Rachit's response. He had heard the emphasis Rachit had place on folding, as if that was of some particular meaning. And perhaps it was to an Asura, but to him it was just another oddity of Rachit's speech.

"I still don't get it Rachit."

Rachit frowned softly for a moment as he scratched his chin. Finally it appeared that something had occurred to him, and he stepped forward. "Well, you see, it is quite similar to the Gates we Asura have made. Except, slightly different. Well, technically it is very different I suppose. At any rate, it involves an inverse fold of an axial conjuration field. First, you focus a low modulation etheric pulse onto your target."

"Tinker!"

Rachit nearly jumped at the loud shout that came from nearby. Everyone turned to find Chadok up a nearby tree, leaning out and only holding himself in place with a single hand.

"There are times and there are places for talking. At the moment, this is neither. Now let's get moving." Chadok quickly descended the tree, and took off down slope the moment his feet touched ground.

Juxeena turned to the others. "We actually should get going. Grawl aren't the best trackers, but with the sheer numbers back there, they could just send groups out in every direction. I say we keep pressing till nightfall. That should put enough distance between us and them to be safe." With that she hefted her bow and started off, and Elovar followed quickly behind. Rachit hitched his packs up grumbling to himself about being underappreciated and at having to continue their harsh pace. Vayla pat him on the head as she passed.

**30**

The rest of the day was spent on the move. Vayla stayed near the rear, as usual, but mostly to make sure no one fell behind. Chadok was constantly on the move. Between his scouting ahead and doubling back, Vayla quickly lost track as to where he was at any given moment. As expected, the Norn woman seemed to be having no troubles keeping up with their pace. The Human Elovar flagged every now and then, but was able to catch back up after a few moments to recover his breath. Vayla was impressed with his ability to keep up with the pace as much as he did. Rachit was the only one that she was truly concerned about. She had known him for a while, and a cross country forced march was not something he enjoyed. He preferred leisurely pacing about his study, or crawling through some ancient ruin. Long periods of strenuous activity typically left him in something of a foul mood. But to his credit, the small Asura was able to keep the pace for the entire day. Vayla noted that he slowed anytime anyone else did, but he always made sure to never fall behind.

The course that Chadok was leading away from the Grawl caverns was as direct a line as Vayla had ever seen him make. They still had to weave and wander as the terrain dictated, their path leading them down slopes into valleys, back up over ridges, and around sharp outcroppings of rocks. But Chadok lead them as straight as he could. Vayla found herself musing on why he seemed to be pressing so hard and straight a trail. She managed to narrow the options in her head to one of two possibilities. Either he was wanting to finish the job and get paid as soon as possible, or he was wanting to rid himself of unwanted company. Vayla could not bring herself to care either way, so long as Chadok didn't endanger anyone in his hurry to be done.

As they marched, the sun rose and crossed the sky, though the temperature never seemed to change. Cold air and biting winds were the norm that high in the mountains. That did not stop anyone from sweating under their jackets and cloaks, the exertion of the hike taking its toll. By the time Chadok finally signaled a stop, they were all panting or at least straining with every breath. Even Chadok was showing signs of breathing hard as he scanned the valley that lay ahead. The sun was at their backs, and about to drop below the mountain tops, casting long shadows out across the terrain ahead of them. Chadok finally shook his head and stepped back from the ledge he had been observing from.

"We aren't going to be able to make it down the valley before nightfall. To say nothing of getting up the other side. Making camp here is the best option tonight. And no fires."

Chadok turned and walked back the way they had come, presumably for one last covering of their tracks. Rachit groaned softly as he let his pack slide to the ground, which he followed immediately, using the pack as a seat. He proceeded to divest himself of the numerous bags and sacks of gear before finally collapsing amidst the pile. Vayla shed her gear as well, placing it next to the pile that Rachit had started. The others followed suit until a few minutes later their bags and packs had created a small pile. Rachit came to sit against the pile once it was done, as it proved to be an efficient wind break. Vayla looked around, taking in their position. The slope was gentle and led downward towards the valley ahead. Numerous ledges rose up from the slope, but there was little in the way of actual cover. In spite of her reluctance to do so, Vayla had to agree with Chadok. Camping here at the top of the slope, despite being mostly open, was a better strategic option than being trapped at the bottom of the valley.

Vayla sat near the edge of their gear pile, giving her the best view of all directions. As she leaned back and enjoyed the rest, she heard Elovar and Juxeena whispering softly amongst themselves, and then the sounds of Rachit noisily rummaging through one of his packs. Looking over her shoulder, Vayla saw Rachit's bottom half sticking out from the pile of bags and sacks, his legs squirming about as he tried to keep his footing. When he finally backed out from the pile, he had a number of metallic and stone objects in his arms. She could not put a name to any one of the items in particular, but she had known Rachit long enough to recognize his equipment in general. She had also known him long enough to at least speak up.

"Rachit, what are you doing?"

Rachit smiled as he let the equipment drop to the ground with a soft clatter.

"I am going to construct a heater. It is hard enough functioning in this frigid environment. I have no intentions of passing one more nights repose without some form of warmth."

The noise of the equipment dropping caught the attention of Elovar and Juxeena, who halted their conversation and looked over to where Rachit was standing. Rachit leaned down and started to pick out components and snap them together as he explained.

Vayla just shook her head. "Chadok said no fire, Rachit. And he was right. Out here, exposed as we are, even a small fire could be seen for miles."

Rachit just waved her concerns away as he continued his construction. He had now produced a wrench of sorts from somewhere, and set to tightening the tripod he had already assembled.

"Oh, I am well aware of the effective visibility range of light. Through various media, and in numerous states I might add. And I will readily confess that my heater will no doubt emit light in some form or fashion. Thus the first step in my clever plan is to make it harder to see."

Rachit began mounting a narrow tube to the underside of his tripod. Vayla decided to wait and see what he had planned, and went back to watching the mountain side. It only took Rachit a few minutes of work, with some help from Elovar who had taken some interest in Rachit's impromptu construction, to erect something that Vayla could not put a name to. At the bottom of the tube Rachit had placed a thin disc of some sort, and the underside of that held several tiny semi-circle nubs, placed evenly across the surface of the disc. Rachit stepped back with a grin on his face. He fished into a pocket and pulled out a small wand tool similar to his diagnostic wand, except instead of a crystal at the end, it was capped in a cone of brass. It did have a blue crystal mounted in the core of the wand, halfway down its length, and it glowed very softly.

"Here we go."

**31**

Rachit stepped up to the tripod construction, and touched his small device to a spot on the hanging tube. He pressed a squarish key on the short wand, and the glow of the crystal increased. For a few moments nothing happened. Then Vayla noted a very low hum, almost inaudible, coming from somewhere and growing in volume. As the volume increased Vayla felt as if her very insides were beginning to tremble. Everything from her toes to her ears felt as they were vibrating in a single rhythm. It felt similar to the feeling of standing next to an artillery piece when it fired, only this sensation persisted. It was not uncomfortable as such, but the sensation seemed unsettling. Elovar and Juxeena across the way seemed likewise affected. Elovar was pressing his hands against his chest, a bewildered look on his face. Juxeena, her face seemingly flushed, was glaring at Rachit. Vayla was about to say something to Rachit when Chadok appeared from around the pile of gear, and with a single bound, reached Rachit and the strange device. There was a gleam of steal, and Vayla leapt to her feet. Before she could take a step though, the sound and strange sensations ceased, as Rachit's device was knocked aside and into multiple pieces. Chadok sheathed his knives as Rachit stared in disbelief. Vayla slowly strode over to stand behind Rachit, in case Chadok was not yet finished. And he wasn't.

"Are you completely insane, you little maniac?"

Vayla cocked an eyebrow, but Rachit reacted much more animatedly. He turned to face Chadok square on, his shoulders back and hands at his hips. The fact that he was having to look almost straight up seemed not to lessen his poise in the slightest.

"The ignorant often imply insanity whenever someone performs acts beyond their personal comprehension."

Chadok lowered his face closer to Rachit's, Vayla's stance tightening as he did. His frown would have made anyone second guess their life decisions, but Rachit held his ground. Chadok's voice dropped in volume, emphasized with more growling than usual.

"And only an idiot would use a sonic device of any kind this close to Dredge territory."

Rachit looked as if he were about to loudly dispute Chadok when his face suddenly went blank. His eyes narrowed, then widened as his mouth opened slightly. After a long pause, Rachit's eyes refocused and he blinked rapidly a moment. He folded his hands behind his back, and bowed his head ever so slightly.

"You are correct Chadok, and have my apologies. I was not fully aware how far we managed to travel today. I shall refrain from using any further sonic based devices until we safely reach civilization."

Chadok grumbled slightly as he straightened. Vayla could tell that he hadn't expected that sort of response from Rachit, especially after calling him an idiot. Which of course was why Chadok had used the word in the first place. Chadok finally scoffed to no one in particular, and slowly moved back off into the shadows. Vayla relaxed as he finally moved off, sighing under her breath. She came around to stand in front of Rachit with a an eyebrow raised inquisitively.

"So now what?"

Rachit's face suddenly split into a smile. He held up a finger as he dove back into the pile of gear. When he pulled himself out again, he had a small spade. He walked over to where the device had been sitting and began digging. Vayla immediately noticed just how easy a time Rachit was having of it, and stepped closer. Elovar also took the opportunity to scoot closer, trying to see in the dim light of the moon. In just a minute or two, Rachit had managed to dig out a hole that was over two feet wide and equally deep. Out of mountainside that was predominantly rock and hard packed dirt. Elovar whistled softly as he looked into the hole with its perfectly rounded sides. Rachit positively beamed with success.

"My variable sonic emitter, or VaSE for short, is going to make the problems encountered while digging and working around hardened earth materials a thing of the past. It works on the principle of sympathetic vibration stimulation and uses sub harmonic dissonance to break material down into more manageable consistencies."

Vayla grimaced slightly, a common reaction to whenever Rachit tried to explain anything. And she was no dummy either. A decade in the Iron Legion meant she had been exposed to her fair share of massive engineering projects. Unfortunately, Charr engineering tended to be much more grounded and practical, and a little less experimental than Asura tended to be. Looking over at Elovar, she noticed the man had gone almost slack jawed, and she easily recognized the blank look on his face. That was another common reaction to a Rachit explanation. The was a soft bark of a laugh from where Juxeena had started bedding down near a rock, but Vayla chose to ignore it.

"Rachit. You've overdone it again. Maybe you should try again. And this time, try some smaller words for our new friends."

Rachit paused and rubbed his chin with a finger. He seemed to consider the suggestion for a moment, before turning and going back to the gear pile. Pulling some of his bags loose from the rest, he dove into one and began digging through it. Vayla could tell that he was struggling to find words that they could understand. She had been with him long enough, and around enough Asura, to know that using complex language was practically compulsory amongst the species as a whole. To try and simplify anything, especially their words, must seem so counterintuitive to an Asura as to be completely alien. Rachit seemed up to the task though, as after a minute of selecting a number of different components, he returned to the hole with the components in tow and a determined look on his face. He sat at the edge of the hole and dangled his short legs over the side. He took a deep breath as he began assembling whatever it was he was building next.


End file.
